


Clone Scrutiny

by diceysmiles



Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Family, Friendship, Gen, Light Angst, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:54:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 22,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25252684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/diceysmiles/pseuds/diceysmiles
Summary: Based on comics. Set in the MCU. A clone is made. The clone escapes. Peter Parker has no idea there is another him running around New York desperate to meet him.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 26





	1. Hey there! It's Chapter One

_Preface_

Nobody remembers the moment they are born. Rightly so, no one in their right mind would want to. Unless you were not born but made. If you were made, the first time you opened your eyes everything would be new and it would make an impact so strong it would not be easily forgotten. In time you could learn. With knowledge would come the realization that you would eventually come to, the fact that you were made in a lab from the DNA of another. And the idea that there is another you—not a copy but the original—would change everything that you've learned. Your entire existence would be based on a lie. Because the other, the progenitor, would not be aware that a part of them was stolen to create someone else. Flesh from their flesh. Or in this case, an entire human person from their DNA. The clone could potentially become obsessed with finding their ancestor.

That is the case of the main character of this story. He has been kept under lock and key since his genesis. He has been learning. Watching. Kept under scrutiny; while he developed a sense of awareness. Gaining the knowledge of right and wrong. Realizing at some point that he is a prisoner. Everyone speaks of him, but no one speaks to him. Except for the one who made him. The first person he saw when he gained his senses. But he thinks back and remembers that from the very beginning, the very first breath, he was just a lab rat. But unlike the rats in their cages, he has the capability of higher thinking. Not to mention, knowledge of a life he's never lived. The knowledge of which he gained through dreams. Dreams of people he's never met. Places he's never been. Taste of food he'd never eaten. Sounds he only heard through the ears of another. The original. His ancestor. Peter Parker. Who, without being aware, shared his memories with his clone. Memories that empowered him to find Peter and tell him he exists so that he could then begin his own life. He's so tired of being alone. He craves an identity and interaction with others. So he patiently waits and plans to create the perfect opportunity for escape.

* * *

**Chapter One**

_Who am I?_

The question is at the forefront of his mind. He has no name. No identity. No sense of direction either from the looks of it. He'd been wandering aimlessly since he escaped from the lab. It had been easy. He was strong. He was lithe. He could jump high. And crawl on walls. So he easily slipped into the vents and followed a small animal—a mouse or lizard, he couldn't tell the difference in the darkness of the vent—until he was outside. The excitement of his breakout overwhelmed him. The alarms blaring from the building scared him. And the adrenaline coursing inside of him pushed him forward. So he ran. He ran so fast and so long that he had no idea where he was. But he was tired. He found himself in some sort of tunnel. He slowed to a stop when he saw a hollow in the wall where he hid and slept.

The sound of blaring horns woke him. He quickly got up and made his way towards the sound only to find himself on the edge of a road. Cars and big trucks sped passed him. He choked on the exhaust and ran towards the mouth of the tunnel. He kept to the edge where it was safe. He walked along the side of the road once he'd made it out of the tunnel until he was stopped by a man in a uniform who asked him his name.

_Who am I?_

"What's the matter, can't speak?" asked the officer as he eyed the teenage boy suspiciously. He was dirty like he'd fallen in mud and grime. But otherwise looked healthy. Not homeless but maybe a recent runaway the officer believed. Either that or he had a late rough night. It was a toss-up really.

"I…" he said, voice hoarse. He'd never had to speak out loud before. He heard the lab workers and the professor speaking and he understood language, but he'd never been spoken to directly. When he heard his own voice it distracted him, he smiled happily—a small smile—and nodded to the officer.

"What's your name, kid?" the officer asked patiently with a show of concern in his eyes.

He shook his head. "They didn't give me a name." He enunciated each word and spoke slowly.

The officer eyed him suspiciously then his mouth formed a tight line. "Where did you come from?"

"I don't know," he said with a slight frown as he looked around. He couldn't remember which direction he'd come from. "I escaped."

"Jesus," the officer said in alarm. Then he realized he'd alarmed the kid who'd taken a step back. He closed his eyes and sighed heavily. He rubbed his head in frustration and then gestured for the kid to follow him. "Come with me, kid. I'll get you some help and hopefully, we can figure out who you are."

"Where...where are we going?" he said, shaking his head a little. "I don't want to be locked up again."

The officer dropped his hand and gestured to the patrol car. "I want to help you. But I can't do that if you don't come with me."

"But where are we going?" he said staring at the officer with wide pleading eyes.

"The precinct," the officer said and when he saw the kid frown he elaborated. "I can call ahead to have a social worker meet us there."

"A social worker?"

"Yes, a social worker." At the kid's confused look the officer patiently explained. "A person who provides help and support for those in need. They can help you find a home, a family. What do you say? That sound good?"

"Yes," he said with a small nod and then his stomach growled.

"We'll make a pit stop on the way. How does a burger sound?"

He knew what a burger was and he emphatically nodded. The officer smiled at him kindly and walked to the patrol car. He opened the door to the backseat and gestured for the kid to get in.

He eyed the vehicle skeptically but followed the officer nonetheless. He didn't quite trust the man but he was hungry and he really wanted a burger.

The officer didn't just buy him a burger but also fries and a fizzy drink. He was so happy to be experiencing the taste in real life and not just in dreams. He didn't know that the sense of taste could overpower him so completely. Before he knew it, he was happily humming and ignoring everything around him. Sounds. Sights. Until the backdoor of the patrol car opened again and the officer told him to get out. And then everything slammed into him so fast and loud that he cried out. The city was so bright and very very loud. A sensation he only felt at the lab prior to his escape shot up his spine and made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. But he couldn't react. He was in shock. And in pain. He covered his ears and closed his eyes tight. He spilled his drink into his lap but he hardly noticed. It was too much.

_make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop!_

Then it did. He felt heavy. Lightheaded. His arms dropped to his side. Darkness enveloped him and he welcomed it.

The smell of chemicals forced him to wake up. He didn't know why or how he ended up back at the lab but he needed to flee. He removed all the sticky tabs connected to him and also a needle that had been inserted into his forearm. He jumped out of the bed and crept to the door. He allowed his instinct to guide him out of the room and into a corridor that led to a staircase. He didn't run into anyone but the sounds of an alarm alerted those close by to his escape. He ran up the stairs with his gown billowing behind him. He was barefoot and the floor was cold but he hardly noticed. Not until he'd made it to the rooftop and the wind blew his gown up.

He shivered and pinched the gown behind him to keep it steady. He didn't know where he was supposed to go from there. He was twenty stories up. But as he edged closer to the roof railing, he took in all the lights. It was twilight but the city was busy with colors, sounds, and aromas. It was a little overwhelming but not as scary as it had been before. He couldn't remember what had happened before but he was going to have to get used to the sensory overload of the busy city. And he felt good. Like he was home.

This place wasn't the lab he realized. When he'd escaped the lab the outside wasn't bustling with people like this place. Not inside and definitely not outside. His heart started to beat faster as he looked down. The height made him dizzy. He thought about crawling down the side of the building but another gust of wind blew past him. Goosebumps covered every inch of his skin and he huddled into himself for warmth. He couldn't hang on to the wall and his gown. Especially not when he was shivering. He didn't want to go back inside. He wasn't sure if it was safe to be seen. He gripped the railing unsure of what to do. But then he heard a soft footfall behind him and he turned towards the noise.

He stared wide-eyed at the figure who stood before him. A man dressed from head to toe in a red suit with horns. His heart hammered in his chest.

"It's okay," said the red-clad man. "I'm here to help."

"Help?" he asked in a small voice and pressed himself closer to the railing.

"Yes," the man said in a low tone and gestured with his hand. "Do you mind stepping away from the edge for me?"

"Huh?" he said and looked from the man to the railing. "Why?"

"I would just feel a lot more comfortable if you weren't standing so close to the edge," said the man as he stepped closer still reaching out his hand.

"Why-why are you dressed like that?" he asked still pressed to the railing. The mask the man was wearing was unnerving. He couldn't even see the man's eyes. It just looked like an endless pool of darkness.

The man stilled and dropped his hand. He looked askance in the kid's general direction. "You've never heard of me?"

"Uh, no?" he said with some uncertainty. He couldn't remember ever dreaming of anyone who looked like this guy. But then again his dreams hadn't clued him in on much of anything he'd seen or heard outside the lab. "I'm new." He wasn't sure how to explain he had just been made so he figured the less he said...uh, the better?

"Oh, new in town, huh?" the masked man said, taking another cautious step closer. "That makes sense. Well, I'm Daredevil."

"Daredevil," he said giving the man a skeptical look. "Is that what you are or your just your name?"

"Yeah, it's my name while I wear this," he gestured to his outfit, "to keep my identity hidden. It keeps my family and friends safe."

"Why are your ears so far forward? Are you deformed or something?"

"No," Daredevil said and huffed out a laugh. He pointed at his helmet. "They're horns."

"So you have...horns?"

"No," Daredevil replied with a smirk. "It's just part of the headpiece. A decoration because of the devil motif."

"I've never seen a devil before. They have horns?"

"I'm not really sure. I've never seen one either but the Devil is depicted with horns and a tail in art going as far back as I can remember."

He craned his neck trying to see Daredevil's back. "You have a tail too?"

"No, no tail," Daredevil replied amusedly.

"Oh," he said and let his shoulders sag like he was disappointed.

"What about you, kid?"

"Uh, no. I don't have a tail. My ancestor didn't have one either," he said in surprise. _People didn't have tails, right?_ "I'm just trying to keep this gown from blowing up in the wind."

"No," Daredevil said with a wave of his hand. He was smiling. "I meant, your name. Care to share."

_Who am I?_


	2. Hey there! It's Chapter Two

"I don't have a name," he said truthfully. He still didn't know who he was. Maybe his progenitor could give him a name since the professor at the lab hadn't.

"Do you have amnesia? Is that why you're here at the hospital?"

"Uh, no. I didn't forget. The professor at the lab didn't give me a name," he said with a shrug.

"The professor?"

"Yeah, I…" he looked away from the man and back towards the city. He didn't want to talk about it. "I need to find my family. That's why I escaped the lab."

"The lab," Daredevil said in a low menacing voice. He was standing beside the kid now so that he was at arms reach. "Is the lab here in this hospital?"

"No," he said and looked at the masked man. "I don't know where the lab is or how I got here." He shook his head a little when he remembered the lab. This building, the hospital, reminded him of it a little too much. "I need to leave this place before the professor finds me again. But I…" he looked down and shivered. "I don't think I can make it down from here." Not while he was in a gown, anyway. He could easily crawl down if he had use of both hands.

"I'll help you," Daredevil told him, knowing that the kid was telling him the truth. "Do you have somewhere to go tonight?"

He shook his head. "I'm good at hiding though. So once I get down there," he pointed to the street below. "I can find a place to hide until I can look for my family."

"I have a friend who can take you in for the night," Daredevil told him. "And tomorrow, if you're willing, he'll take you to see someone who can help you find your family."

"Um," he looked down and rubbed his arm before he shrugged and looked at Daredevil again.

"I can keep you safe, kid," Daredevil said in a softer tone. "So, what do you say? Will you let me help you?"

"I guess. Sure."

"First things first, let me get you some pants," Daredevil said and pulled him away from the edge towards the staircase opening. They went into the staircase away from the biting wind. Then Daredevil jumped over the staircase railing and disappeared.

He smiled and looked over the railing. Daredevil could move like him. Incredible. He thought he was the only one. But he figured it was best to keep that part about him to himself. He didn't want to end up a lab rat again. Maybe Daredevil was right to wear a suit that hid his identity. It was something to consider. But he didn't know why he'd have to hide his identity other than to hide from the professor. In a city with as many people like the one he was in, maybe he wouldn't be found so easily.

"Alright kid, this is the best I could do," Daredevil handed him some scrubs and a windbreaker. Then he stepped outside to give him privacy to change. When the kid came back out, Daredevil was waiting off to the side and gestured for him to follow. "Do you see that building over there?" He nodded. "We're going to jump over to that roof and then head down the fire-escape down to the street level." When the kid didn't say anything Daredevil looked over at him curiously. "I really hope you're not afraid of heights."

He looked over to the adjacent building while Daredevil pulled something off his belt. The other building was only about three stories lower than the one they were on. He figured he could make the jump easily. He backed up to get a running start and went for it.

"Kid, what are y—kid!" Daredevil shouted when he saw what the young man was doing and then he saw him jump. He hurried to follow in sheer horror. He should have told him he was going to carry him over. _Oh god. What was I thinking? Mental note: Be more explicit with explanations with this kid._

He tucked into a ball and rolled. The momentum carried him until he hit an AC unit.

"Ow," he said and then just lay there waiting for the pain to pass. It was a longer jump than he thought it would be.

"Kid, hey kid, are you okay?" Daredevil said as he crouched beside the boy. He looked left and right trying to assess with his senses whether or not the kid had injured himself.

"I'm fine," he said and sat up rubbing his side where he'd hit the AC unit. "I think I need more practice."

"Please, don't ever do anything so reckless again. You could've killed yourself," Daredevil said as he rubbed his face.

"But you said—"

"I know, but I didn't mean for you to jump on your own. I have a grapple—"

"A what?" he looked at Daredevil curiously.

"Jesus, kid," Daredevil said, rubbing his chest. _This kid almost gave me a heart attack!_ "Just don't jump off any more roofs. Please, I'm begging you."

"Yeah, okay. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, come on. Let me help you up," Daredevil said and helped him up. Once they were standing, Daredevil wrapped an arm around the boy's waist and released his grapple to swing them down to street level.

"Woo hoo!"

"Shh! Jesus. Keep your voice down," Daredevil said but he was smiling a little.

"Sorry, sorry," he said, still feeling giddy.

"If I would've known you would enjoy that," Daredevil said then shook his head. "Never mind. It's cold. You're not wearing shoes. Let me call a cab."

"A cab?"

Daredevil looked at him but didn't answer.

_It's like he's never been outside. Dear God, what if he's never been outside? How long did this professor have him captive?_

Daredevil guided the kid with a hand on his shoulder until they were by the road and flagged down a cab.

"Get in," Daredevil said and rattled off an address to the cabbie who only looked at them for a beat before he drove off.

They didn't speak anymore after that. When they arrived at their destination, Daredevil paid the cabbie and walked up to a man waiting on the sidewalk in front of an apartment building.

"Kid, this is Foggie. He's going to take you up to the apartment," Daredevil told him.

"Oh, um, okay," he said looking at Daredevil a little sadly. "Will I see you again?"

"I'll make sure my friend gives you a way to contact me if you need to, okay?" Daredevil said with a slight frown.

He nodded and smiled. "Thank you, you know, for the help and the flying—!"

"Flying?!" Foggie said looking at Daredevil with his head cocked and raised brows. "You can fly?"

"No, I can't fly," Daredevil said with a scoff. "I grappled down a building with him."

"Hmm," Foggie said skeptically and then looked at the kid. "Well, are you ready to go up?" He gestured to the door.

"Up?" he said looking up at the apartment building then at Daredevil.

"You're taking the stairs," Daredevil said sternly and ruffled the kid's hair when he saw him pout. "I'm not an amusement park ride, kid. Now, go on up."

"Amusement park ride?"

"You don't know what an amusement park is?" Foggie said with a short huff laugh. "What? You've been living under a rock or something?"

"Foggie!"

"What?" Foggie said then looked from Daredevil's stern face to the kid who shook his head.

"Not under a rock," he said honestly. "In a lab."

"A lab?" Foggie said and looked the kid over noticing for the first time what he was wearing and not wearing. Then he looked at Daredevil appalled. "What the hell is going on, Ma—Daredevil?"

"It's cold outside," Daredevil said, gesturing to the kid's feet. "Take him up, please."

Foggie sighed and placed a hand on the kid's shoulder to guide him to the door.

"Bye," he said with a small wave to Daredevil who just nodded and then stepped away from the building into the shadows disappearing from sight. "Uh, where'd he go?"

"He likes dramatic exits and entrances, and everything else. Hence the suit with the horns," Foggie said in annoyance as they stepped into the building.

He chuckled. "I thought they were ears."

"Yeah?" Foggie said with a small smile. "He might as well get a tail and pitchfork."

"Pitchfork?"

"Oh, uh, you know, a pitchfork," he said gesturing lamely with his hands as if he were picking hay and throwing it. "Ah, nevermind. Ask Matt. He might—no, he wouldn't have any pictures because he's blind."

"Matt is blind," he repeated looking at Foggie curiously. "Who's Matt?"

"Right, so he's my best friend and he's going to let you stay with him, I guess," Foggie said, sounding unsure. Matt had called him earlier and asked him to meet at his apartment only saying that he needed him to escort someone up to his place and to bring food. He didn't say it was a kid or that something weird was up with the kid.

"That's really nice of him," he said with a small smile.

"Yeah, Matt is just a nice guy," Foggie said fondly and then knocked at a door once they reached the top floor.

A man wearing red-tinted glasses answered the door. His hair was messy and a little damp with sweat. And he smelled exactly like the Daredevil suit.

"Hey, Matt," Foggie said. "So this is," he gestured to the kid not having learned his name.

"I'll take it from here, Foggie, thank you," Matt said and opened the door wider so that the kid could walk in.

"Right, I'll just leave you two alone cause I have an early day tomorrow or something equally pointless because neither of you cares. So, goodnight," Foggie said awkwardly and left.

When Matt closed the door and turned towards the kid, he was looking right at him.

"So does your friend know you're Daredevil?" the kid said in a low conspiratorial voice.

"What?" Matt said, taken aback.

"I could smell your suit on you. And your voice isn't so different. It was just deeper before," he told him and walked further into the apartment.

Matt sighed heavily. Of course, the kid he brought home had great smelling and hearing, just his luck.

"He knows," Matt said in a serious tone. He was taking a huge risk by helping this kid. But he was just a kid and Matt couldn't just leave him on his own. "And I need you to keep my secret—"

"You want to protect him. I remember. It's the least I can do. You've been very kind to me," he looked away from Matt towards the window where a blaring neon light was filtering in. "Thank you."

Matt waved his hands in front of him. "You hungry? I ordered Chinese ahead of time. Foggie brought it up."

"Chinese?"

"Chinese food," Matt elaborated. "Come on, I'll show you."

Matt explained to him what he'd ordered and let him taste everything. But the kid ate everything with so much enthusiasm that all Matt could do was just let him enjoy the food. Afterward, they got ready for bed.

Matt had to have a serious talk with him the next day about what was going to happen moving forward. Because Matt couldn't harbor a kid illegally. Not unless he wanted to lose his license or end up with kidnapping charges. He was going to ask Karen Paige to look into the kid's family before he'd decide what to do. And he had to look into who this professor was because who knew how many more kids he'd taken.

He could probably ask Natasha Romanoff to help him out with that. Natasha had connections he didn't and could probably find the professor sooner. The only problem was that Natasha was currently off the grid. Matt inwardly sighed. Perhaps it was for the best. The fewer people who were aware of the kid and his circumstances, the better.


	3. Hey there! It's Chapter Three

After breakfast and a short explanation about what was going to happen that day, he found himself walking down the streets of Hell's Kitchen with Matt Murdock wearing slightly oversized sweatpants and a plain white tee. The sneakers Matt gave him to wear were worn and only a half size too big. But Matt stopped at a bodega on the way to his office to buy him new shoes. The only ones available in his size were red. He thought it was funny since the only other color in Matt's wardrobe outside of dark colors was red. He wiggled his toes in the shoes and smiled happily. Matt smiled at him and ruffled his hair before he paid for the shoes.

He held onto Matt's arm as they made their way down the street not because Matt needed a guide but because he was prone to becoming distracted and had gotten separated a couple of times when something caught his attention.

The last time he was distracted, he bumped into a large fellow who scared the shit out of him. He clung to the wall and couldn't decide whether to scamper up or get down and crawl away until he found a place to hide. Matt stepped in as the man shouted at him and apologized for his deaf son. The large man looked utterly embarrassed and apologized to the blind man who had the bad luck of having a deaf son. Luckily he hadn't said a word. But it took Matt a little coaxing for him to release his grip on the wall after the threat was gone. Afterward, he clung to Matt's arm as if it were a security blanket. Not that he understood what that meant. But it was part of the bank of metaphors that he knew thanks to his ancestor.

They passed up a hotdog vendor and it made him remember a time when he'd gone to Coney Island with Ben and May. The memory made him smile because now he understood the amusement park ride reference. And he could honestly say that grappling down the building with Daredevil was just as good as any ride. But the happy feeling went away just as fast as it came.

Sure the memories from his ancestor helped give him hope of an outside world when he was held prisoner at the lab. Not so much now that he was in the outside world. They were only a reminder that he'd never had a life outside of the lab. Or any life at all. His memories weren't his, they belonged to another. He really did hope that Matt's friend could help him find his ancestor. And that Peter would in turn help him with the life bit.

They arrived at a nondescript building while he was lost in thought and went up the stairs. The door they walked to was at the end of the hall. There was a sign by the door that read Nelson and Murdock Attorneys at Law. Matt opened the door and gestured for the kid to walk inside. The space wasn't very big. And there was a desk facing the door with a very pretty blonde woman sitting behind it.

"Good morning, Matt," the woman said eagerly. Then her eyes swept over to him. "Who's this? A new client?"

"Uh, not exactly," Matt said and placed a hand on his shoulder. "This is Karen Paige. She is amongst other things our legal investigator. She's the friend I told you about that could help you find your family."

"Hi," he said shyly, waving a hand to Karen who smiled and said hello.

"Karen, I know I'm asking a lot especially while we're in the middle of a case," Matt said apologetically. "But I would prefer if you could prioritize finding his family. Within reason, of course. Anything that you think I can handle that I can take off your plate, send it my way."

"Yes, of course, Matt," Karen said and gestured for the young man to have a seat in front of her desk. "Don't forget your meeting with the DA is in an hour and you have a lunch—"

"Got it, Karen, thanks," Matt said, already heading into his office. "You're in good hands, kid."

"Okay, why don't we start with you telling me a bit about yourself," Karen said, pulling out a pen and notepad.

"Sure, but what do you want to know?" he said not knowing what he was supposed to tell her. Everything he knew, well it was Peter's life, not his. He didn't know anything about himself.

"Your name for starters," Karen said smiling encouragingly.

"I...I don't have a name," he said and ran a hand over his hair.

Karen hummed and jotted something down. "Where are you from?"

"Uh, a lab. But I'm not sure where it was. I escaped and a man in a uniform found me," he said.

"A uniform? What kind of uniform?" Karen said, writing down a few more notes. She wasn't reacting to what he said in any way. She was just looking for as much information she could gather to find his family. So far she had bupkis.

"Oh! He was a policeman," he said snapping his fingers. Then the rest of the words came out in a rush after having become excited that the knowledge that was stored in his mind was finally working in his favor. "And he bought me a hamburger that was really good. And he said he was going to get me in touch with a social worker that could help me find my family. But then something really weird happened and I ended up at a hospital. I thought I was back at the lab when I came to so I tried to escape and that's when Daredevil found me and he flew me down to street level and got us a cab and took me to Matt where I met Foggy. He was really nice. Foggy was. Oh, but so was Matt. And Daredevil is awesome. Then Matt brought me here to meet you after buying me some shoes. So can you help me find my family?"

Karen heard the soft chuckles coming from Matt's office and she made a mental note to berate him later for not giving her more to go on from the get-go.

"I will do everything I can to help you. But so far, I don't have enough to start a search," Karen said. She had enough to start backtracking to the lab where he may have been held. But not enough to find his family. "I at least need a family name even if you don't know your given name."

"You mean like my ancestor's name?" he said curiously.

"Yes, an ancestor will work," Karen said with an encouraging smile.

"My ancestor's name is Peter Parker. He was born here in New York," he said and scrubbed the back of his neck. "His family currently lives in Forest Hills but I can't remember the address. Although I think I can get to the right house if I was in the right neighborhood."

He hadn't even realized that Karen was already on the computer looking up Peter Parker until he heard her mumble to herself. He looked up at her then saw her jotting a few things down.

"I found a few entries on your ancestor Peter Parker," Karen said. "The earliest record was an engagement announcement in the Daily Bugle in 1955. The couple was Teresa Ortiz and Peter Parker. In 1958 there was a birth announcement in the Bugle for a Benjamin Franklin Parker born to Mr. and Mrs. Peter Parker."

"Uncle Ben," he said softly. Karen didn't hear him. She was too busy jotting down notes and looking up more information.

"Let's see. In 1960 there was a funeral announcement for Teresa Parker survived by husband, Peter Parker; son, Benjamin Parker; and sister, Miss Millie Ortiz." Karen frowned when she found a related article for a mid-air collision between two planes above New York. One plane crashed landed in Brooklyn narrowly missing a school. Six people on the ground died that day. One being Teresa Parker, a teacher for six years in Brooklyn at a junior high. Karen jotted that down but didn't mention it aloud. "In 1978 there's a marriage announcement for Ann Miller who married Peter Parker at a Manhattan courthouse. I'm pretty sure it's the same Peter Parker because in 1981 there's a birth announcement from the same couple for Richard Laurance Parker. The same announcement includes a sibling for Richard, Ben Parker, age 21."

The articles were easier to find after that. She'd been lucky that she found them at all. They had been digitized and tagged by date, place, and name. Her original search 'Peter Parker circa 1900's' directed her to the Daily Bugle archives online. Any article with his name and surname popped up. Karen only had to search the names or dates in relation to the announcements that came up to find the extended family.

She had so much information at her fingertips. It was too easy, however. It almost seemed like someone else had done the work for her. She was simply reaping from their rewards. Because how was it possible that she found so many articles so quickly? And yet it seemed like a lot of information on the Parkers was missing. What had happened prior to the first entry? There were so little Parkers and yet, it was such a common name that she felt like there should be more articles. The thing was there probably was they were just not tagged by name. It could overload the program to have too many articles pop up at the same time. She couldn't think about that though. Not when she was close to finding the kid's family.

"In 1986 there was a funeral announcement for Peter and Ann Parker. Died suddenly in Staten Island. Survived by sons Ben and Richie also Millie Ortiz who is mentioned as Peter's sister. My god," Karen said quietly as she read how they died.

A deranged man wielding a machete injured nine people and killed two. Peter and Ann Parker. That was all the article stated about the incident. Not that it was an article. It read more like the news ticker while what was deemed more important news was given greater coverage. _Was it a cover-up? For what? Who was Peter Parker?_ She mentally shook her head. She wrote down her questions to follow up later if it was necessary. She hoped it wasn't necessary.

She continued scouring the articles for information. She glanced at the boy who was staring out the window. But she could tell he was waiting for her to find more information about his family.

"Alright. I found a marriage announcement for one of the sons. Ben Parker married a woman named May Reilly who was originally from Boston in 1993 at a church in Queens." At this, the boy smiled and Karen did too. "And in 1999 it looks like Mary Fitzpatrick and Richard L. Parker were married. They had a son named Peter Benjamin Parker on August 27, two years later. I imagine he's about your age. Let's see if we can find a current address," Karen's face fell. "Oh no."

He didn't look at her, just kept staring out the window. I know what happened to them. Peter remembers so that means so do I. But that doesn't mean I want to relive those feelings. He couldn't complain about the situation. The woman was on the right track and she would find Peter soon. He just had to endure the emotional backlash he was feeling and act like it didn't affect him at all. He'd had practice at the lab. The professor put him through many tests. Some were more painful than others. If it wouldn't have been for the memories he'd been given he may not have lasted very long as a lab rat. And he didn't want to think about that either.

He looked at Karen and grimaced. She was thinking hard about something. She'd been doing that a lot. He knew she was keeping a lot from him and that was okay. He didn't need to know everything. He knew enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most of the Parker tragedies are based on real-life events. And they worked with the timeline I was creating. There is no Teresa parker, Ben and Richard have the same mother in cannon. But I wanted to give a reason for the age gap between the two sons. Not that there can't be big age gaps with children of the same parents. It happens. But this way there was more history to the Parker Luck.


	4. Hey there! It's Chapter Four

It seemed that tragedy followed the Parker family everywhere they went. A small private plane crashed into a Manhattan apartment building when the pilot lost control. Killing the pilot and single passenger instantly as well as the couple who was appraising an apartment in the building. The couple who just so happened to be Richard and Mary Parker. This happened only three years after a steam pipe explosion in Manhattan. Twenty people were injured and only one died. Millie Ortiz. It was a recurring theme. _Maybe they had all been in the wrong place at the wrong time…?_

Teresa was killed by a plane while walking down the street. Peter and Ann killed by a lunatic with a machete while on a fucking ferry. Millie was killed by a steam pipe explosion while standing on a corner in Manhattan. And Richard and Mary were killed by a plane while appraising an apartment.

_Plane. Lunatic. Explosion. Plane– What was next? Another death by lunatic?_

Karen had to stop letting her mind wander. Focus on the boy. Find his family. But he was looking at her curiously. Right. The last thing she'd said was telling. He hadn't reacted to any of the previous deaths. But these people were likely his parents. Not that Karen was exactly certain about that. Though he did have a resemblance to Richard Parker from the wedding announcement photo. Right. He's dead. The boy had the right to know.

"They passed away. So did Millie. In Manhattan. Three years apart." _No reaction. It's as if he already knew. Let's see. What happened to Peter then?_

"Peter was left in the care of his uncle, Ben Parker. He lived in Forest Hills. Just like you said. But Ben died two years ago."

_Shit. Shit. Shit. Another lunatic. This one wielding a gun. What the hell was with this family and their bad luck? This one happened in his own home for crying out loud! Get it together, Karen._ She cleared her throat and gathered her bearings. _Next is an explosion. Please let there not be an explosion._

"Only living relatives were his wife, May, and nephew, Peter. Looks like May still lives in Forest Hills but she moved to an apartment building. And Peter is currently enrolled in Midtown High. That's quite a commute. Oh, here's a picture from a science exhibit at Oscorp!" Karen looked at the picture of the students then she looked at the boy. "It's you! You're in the picture!"

He shook his head but she didn't notice. Karen jumped out of her seat to grab something she'd printed. She sat on her desk and handed him the picture.

"There's no missing child reports on Peter. And you're obviously Peter. Why'd you say Peter was your ancestor?"

"Peter Parker is the one in the picture," he said as he pointed at the boy's face. "I'm not Peter."

"You're _not_ Peter?"

"No," he said and sighed. "I want to find him. He's my family."

"But you look just like him."

"We share the same genetic markers. It's only logical that we look like one another," he said and pointed at the picture. "Can we go see him?"

"The same genetic… Oh, you're twins! Identical. That makes sense. But why did the birth announcement only mention Peter?" Karen snapped her fingers and grabbed her notepad. "Peter Benjamin Parker. It could have been a typo. They forgot to separate the names. So you must be Benjamin. Ha! This is good news! And look, it's almost lunchtime. Let's head over to Midtown High to see if we can get a glimpse of him. I don't think we should talk to him yet. Not until we get ahold of your Aunt May. We'll let Matt handle that."

Karen didn't want to mention that perhaps May was in on his abduction since Ben wasn't even reported as a missing child. Unless he'd been sent for treatment in some sort of medical facility. Karen had heard of crazier things. And May Parker was barely making ends meet. She probably couldn't afford two boys not to mention one. And they weren't exactly blood relatives. Karen grabbed her purse and hoped to god that her speculations were wrong. That and that the kid didn't keel over and die on her on the way to the high school. And she really really hoped that there weren't any explosions on the way. She crossed her fingers. Knocked on wood. What else could she do?

* * *

His name was Benjamin. Was that really his name? Karen had said it so easily and it felt right. He liked it. Ben just like his uncle who he never actually met in person. Did Peter's memories count?

Ben stopped before they reached the entrance because Karen did. She was calling out to Matt.

"He's not here," he told her and startled her for some reason. "He had a meeting to go to. You told him when we arrived."

"Oh! That's right." She checked her watch. "I wonder why Foggy never showed up. Let me lock up."

Ben moved to the side as she locked the door. They made their way down to street level quietly. Karen lost in thought and Ben feeling nervous about seeing Peter for the first time in his short life.

"Foggy!" Karen said when they exited the building. "Hold the cab!"

"Karen, hey," Foggy said with a wide smile. "I'm actually leaving again. I just stopped by for some files. Where are you heading? Maybe we can share the cab. Just give me a sec."

Karen ushered Ben into the taxi and went around the other side. When Foggy returned he got in and told the cabbie where to go. It was then that he noticed the kid for the first time.

"Hey there again, um, I never got your name," Foggy said awkwardly.

"Ben," he said and smiled.

"Ben, it's good to formally meet you," Foggy said with a smile and turned to look at Karen. He hadn't talked to Matt yet that morning. He hadn't known he'd pawned the kid off on Karen. What the heck was Matt thinking? At least the kid looked happy and was wearing actual clothes instead of the hospital garb he'd had on the night before. "So where are you two headed? Getting some lunch?"

"No," Karen said, realizing that maybe they should get food soon. "We were going to do some sightseeing. But afterward, um, we'll get pizza or something. You like pizza, right, Ben?"

Ben simply nodded. He was so very nervous and he wanted to ask a lot of questions but he held back. He didn't want Karen to dislike him so soon after meeting him.

Karen and Foggy kept talking but he didn't hear a word. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees as he watched the road with rapt attention. He didn't even notice when Foggy got out of the cab. It wasn't until Karen placed a hand on his shoulder to tell him they'd arrived that he paid attention to his surroundings.

They got out of the cab and as Karen paid the cabbie, Ben saw Peter jumping over the fence that surrounded the school. He ran towards the street one block south of where Ben was standing. And before Ben realized what he was doing, he'd crossed the street and ran until he reached the mouth of the alley.

"Ben!" Karen was calling after him.

Ben peeked into the alley because he heard a loud sound. He saw Peter quickly undressing. Ben was very confused about what was going on. When Karen reached him, he turned to her and covered her mouth before Peter heard her.

"Peter's in there," Ben said quietly.

He peeked into the alley again to see what Peter was up to. To his surprise, Peter was wearing some sort of suit with a spider emblem. Then he put on a mask and moved a trash bin. He threw his backpack behind it and shot something from his wrists. Then he moved the trash bin back and jumped to the roof. By then Ben was standing at the mouth of the alley mouth agape. At the other end, there was a girl taking a picture. Ben's eyes widened. Then the girl looked at him. Ben quickly scampered back towards Karen.

"What is going on?" Karen whispered.

"Someone saw me and Peter's gone," he said quietly. "And there was something else."

"What?"

Ben didn't know what to tell Karen. Was he supposed to tell her that Peter was like him and had superhuman abilities but that unlike him Peter wore some sort of costume like Daredevil?

"Peter?" said a girl to his right. Both Karen and Ben looked at her curiously. She had dark hair and fair skin. Her eyes were dark and her lips were full. Ben thought she was very pretty. She looked from Ben to Karen suspiciously. "What are you doing out here?"

"Um…" Ben looked at Karen. What was he supposed to say? Should he pretend to be Peter? Was Peter dressing up in costume in secret like Daredevil? Should he help Peter keep his secret? Did Daredevil change in alleys also? So many questions ran through his mind at the same time.

"Hey, loser, why did you change?" said a girl to his left. She'd been the one who had taken the picture at the other end of the alley. She must've run really fast. She was breathing hard but it wasn't labored. Her hair was very curly and all over the place. She looked a little pissed off too. "Did you talk to Spider-man or were you just spying on him?"

"Spider-man was in the alley?" the other girl said. "You saw him?"

"I got a picture. But it's blurry. He moved too fast," said the other girl, showing it to the other girl.

Karen looked at Ben and mouthed 'Spider-man?' Because he'd told her Peter had been there and that he was gone. Had Spider-man taken Peter with him?

Ben shrugged. He didn't know who Spider-man was. His memory of Peter having the same powers he had was a little muddy.

"Wow. He was that close to the school?"

"Why was he here, Peter? Did he have to tell you something? I followed you when I saw you run into the alley. Did you know he would be there? Is that why you came here? Does this have something to do with your internship?"

"Um…"

"Well, let him answer one question before you bombard him more, Michelle," said the dark-haired girl. "Geez. Never become a reporter. You'd suck at it."

"Oh, and you'd do so much better, Jessica. What are you doing off-campus anyway?" Michelle asked her.

"That's none of your business, Michelle," Jessica replied as she tightened her hold on her backpack.

Karen was staring at Ben wondering if he was okay. The boy was looking more and more confused by the moment. And the girls didn't let him get a word in edgewise. Not that it wasn't a bad thing. They'd thought he was Peter after all.

"Hey! Penis Parker! What are you doing out here?" said a boy who walked towards them. He looked at the other girls then at Karen quizzically before glaring at Ben. "Are you having some sort of girly gossip fest?" He looked at the clothes Ben was wearing. "What happened? You got your period?"

"Are you jealous you weren't invited, dick face?" Jessica said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Your mother didn't talk to you about the difference between tampons and pads?

"Shut it, freak!"

Karen facepalmed and sighed _. I'm never having kids._

Ben scooted closer to her probably hoping that she'd make him invisible.

"What do you want, Flash?" Michelle asked, having lost her patience with the boy.

"Well, Mr. Warren saw the freak leave and nobody was supposed to leave campus because of what's happening a couple of blocks away,"

"What's happening?" Karen said, speaking for the first time.

"Some lunatic is rampaging the streets. We have to get back to school," Flash told his classmates. "Lady, I don't know who you are but you better get to safety."

Flash took hold of Ben's arm and pulled him towards the school. "I can't believe I have to save Penis Parker's ass. Let's go, Michelle and you too, freak."

"I really hate that guy," Jessica said under her breath.

"I'm pretty sure he hates himself too," Michelle said and both girls chuckled as they followed after the boys.

Ben looked back towards Karen who mouthed that she'd be back later to get him. He really was safer at the school than on the streets if what the other kid said was true. Hadn't she just been thinking a lunatic would do in the next Parker? No. Not a lunatic, an explosion. He would be safe for now. And if Peter wasn't at school then Ben wouldn't be caught impersonating him.

Karen quickly dialed Matt and hailed a cab. She wanted to know what was going on. Maybe it wasn't as bad as the kid had said it was. That and she wanted to get a good look at May without Ben around. She needed to make sure the woman wasn't a danger to either of the boys before Ben had his family reunion.

* * *

Mr. Warren was waiting for them when they got back to school.

"Peter, Michelle?" the teacher said surprised. "I thought it was only Jessica who had left campus. Why did you two leave?"

"Yeah, Parker, what's your excuse?" Flash said and Mr. Warren shot him a look.

"Get back to class, Flash." Flash sighed heavily and walked away. "I can't thank you enough for retrieving the others," Mr. Warren told him then turned to look at Michelle and Ben expectantly.

"Peter had a secret meeting with Spider-man because of his internship at SI and I followed him to get a picture for the school paper," Michelle said lying easily.

"You're not in the paper, Miss Jones."

"Actually, I am," said Jessica.

"You know I wasn't talking to you, Miss Campbell."

"It's Jones now, Mr. Warren," Jessica said with a roll of her eyes. "It's been Jones since my parents died and the Joneses adopted me."

"Yes, that's right," Mr. Warren said, sounding flustered before walking away. "Head to class all of you. The school is on lockdown."

"Thanks, Jess," Michelle said in a low voice.

"No problem at all, MJ. Whenever I want to get out of trouble, all I have to do is bring up my dead parents," Jessica said flatly as they started to head to class. MJ looked at her curiously but didn't say anything.

"Peter? What are you waiting for? We're in the same chemistry class," Jessica said, turning back to look at him. He hadn't moved a muscle.

"Oh, right. Um, lead the way," Ben said and followed behind the girl. Internally he was freaking out. Everyone thought he was Peter. What if he said or did something so stupid that made it unmistakable to everyone that he wasn't actually Peter? And he especially didn't want to mess up in front of these two girls. Peter would never forgive him.

"Hey loser, why are you so quiet? You usually can't keep your mouth shut," Michelle said after they'd turned a corner. Jessica turned back to look at him.

"Um," Ben said and internally panicked.

"Is it me? Because the first and only time you spoke to me I practically bit your head off. But, can you blame me? My parents and kid brother had just died, I didn't need your pity."

"What? Why would I pity you? I don't have parents either," Ben said in a hurry. He didn't think Peter would have it in him to do that.

"What?" Jessica said and even Michelle looked at him in interest. They stopped walking in the middle of the hallway. "You don't have parents?"

"I didn't mean to make it sound like they abandoned me. Um, they died, you know. Some time ago," Ben said and shrugged. "I think what I said to you probably came out wrong. Knowing me like I do, that's probably what happened. I'm sorry."

"Well don't apologize, geez. I'm the one who was a dick," Jessica said and grimaced.

"It's okay," Ben said and smiled which in turn made Jessica smile.

Michelle looked between them with a frown marring her forehead. Then a loud crash was heard from the entrance of the school. The three looked at one another then sprinted in the direction the noise had come from.


	5. Hey there! It's Chapter Five

The entire front entrance of the school was gone. In its stead was a gaping hole. On the floor before a trio of students was a giant animal-like creature that had landed ass over teakettle.

"Oopsy-daisy. Looks like the Rhino had a tumble wumble. How about I tie you up so you don't keep fumbling around like a toddler?" Spider-man said from the ceiling of the school as he thwipped out some webbing.

The Rhino roared and tore the webs off as he rolled over. "I wasn't fumbling. You idiot bug! I will crush you!"

"Spiders are not bugs."

"Don't you ever shut-up?!"

"Uhm. No, not really. Why? You don't like my voice? I've heard it's quite soothing," Spider-man said, jumping to the ground in front of the Rhino readying to web him up again.

"It's grating my nerves! I'm going to rip out your voice box!" Rhino said and having stood upright, barreled towards Spider-man. He missed and went headlong into some lockers. By then the trio who'd arrived first was surrounded by other students.

"Hey! All of you! Get out of here before you get hurt!" Spider-man shouted at the students. He shot a web at the Rhino's legs and tugged him out of the lockers. And flung him towards the hole they'd come in from.

"Let's get moving! All of you!" a teacher called out from down the hall.

Some of the students towards the back of the crowd listened and ran in the direction the teacher told them. But the students upfront followed the fight between Spider-man and the Rhino outside. The trio of students who'd arrived first at the scene were the first to follow.

Ben stayed behind Jessica and Michelle. He wasn't cowering behind them. He was hiding from Peter. He didn't want his ancestor to get distracted by the fight at the sight of his clone that he had absolutely no idea even existed. Though Ben, like all the students who were watching, was in awe of what Peter was doing. He moved lightning fast and seemed to know exactly when to dodge and when to throw a punch or a kick.

"Oh my god, this is so awesome! Can you believe there's an actual Rhino who's a villain! A _Rhino_! And Spider-man is _fighting_ him! What is his life?!"

Ben recognized the voice and when he turned to look at who'd spoken, he saw Ned holding up his phone to record the fight.

"Ned?" Ben said in a small voice. He remembered him from his dreams. He was Peter's best friend. They'd been friends since they were little. And Ben was so happy to see him that he grinned at his not-friend but maybe best-friend by proxy.

"Peter?" Ned said, turning the phone towards Ben and staring mouth agape. He pointed to Spider-man with one finger but continued staring at Ben through his phone screen. "How are you here?"

"Oh, did you see him leave campus too?" Michelle asked without turning around.

"Uh yeah-yeah," Ned said nervously then turned his phone to the fight then back at Ben as if he was trying to confirm that his friend wasn't in two places at once. But he was! How was that possible? Was there another Spider-man who wasn't his best friend?

"Well, thank Flash Thompson for dragging our asses back," said Jessica with a pout. She didn't turn from looking at the fight either.

"Maybe we should," said Michelle. "Otherwise we'd be missing a sweet fight."

Ben tugged Ned back away from the girls and leaned towards Ned's ear after pushing down Ned's hand that held the phone. "I'm not Peter," Ben whispered knowing he could trust his best-friend but not really with a secret.

"What does that mean?" Ned said stupidly. He was freaking out times a million.

"I'm not Peter," Ben whispered more urgently. He pointed at Spider-man. "That's Peter." He pointed at himself. "I'm Ben."

"So there's two of you?" Bed said looking back and forth.

"No," Ben shook his head and then made a complicated face. "But, uh, yes?"

"How can you be him and not him?"

"He's him and I'm me."

"Why are you Ben and he's Peter?"

"Karen called me Ben," Ben said and shrugged. "So, I'm Ben."

"Karen did? So she knows about you?"

"Yeah, she brought me here."

"She brought you here? How did she do that? Where did you come from?"

"Took a cab from the office."

"The office? Is that where you've been? I mean, that's where you've been this whole time? How long have you, you know, been you?"

"No. I was in a lab. And I don't know how long. It's hard to tell time or even count days when you've only been inside a lab. And they kept me asleep most of the time unless they were conducting tests. It wasn't fun," Ben said rubbing his arm anxiously as he remembered.

"So, what are you?" Ned said more curious now. He touched Ben's arm curiously. "An Android?"

"No. I'm not an artificial being," Ben said offended.

"Sorry," Ned said then his eyes widened. "Oh my god. Are you one of those life mod—"

"Look out!" Ben said suddenly and threw himself at Michelle and Jessica after knocking Ned down. They landed in a heap but Ben hadn't been fast enough something hit his head.

"Holy shit! Holy shit!" Ned said standing up and taking stock of himself. "We almost died!"

"Oh my god! You're bleeding!" Michelle said and with Jessica's help lifted Ben off of them.

Ben staggered a little once they were all standing.

"Are you okay?" Jessica asked nervously as she held Ben's arm to keep him steady. She looked around to call for some help. There were police and paramedics in the street in front of the school but they couldn't come close to the students because of the Spider-man/Rhino fight.

"Yeah," Ben said automatically and then he felt the warm wetness trickling down his neck. He felt the back of his head and winced. When he pulled his hand back to look at what was on his fingers he gasped.

Jessica and Michelle looked at him nervously. Ned noticed the fight had finished while he wasn't paying attention. The Rhino was finally webbed up and Spider-man looked around catching sight of them.

"Is that-is that my blood?" Ben said then he fainted. Luckily Jessica caught him before he faceplanted. Though his face landed on her chest.

"Oh my god! Tell me he's not dead!" Jessica said in a panic as she held Ben's body so that he didn't fall.

Ned looked nervous. Michelle felt for a pulse and sighed in relief.

"He's fine. I think he just fainted."

"Hey!" Spider-man said landing beside them. He'd succeeded in keeping the Rhino out of the school for the remainder of the fight but hadn't been able to stop all the debris the Rhino had flung towards the students. "Is he okay?"

"Yeah, the loser just fainted at seeing his own blood," Michelle said, sounding annoyed but looked a little nervous.

"Oh! Well, the paramedics are here. I could take him over for you—"

"No, it's okay. I got him," Jessica said, cutting him off and lifting Ben in her arms bridal style. She was staring at the Rhino and gestured to his body with her head. "You should make sure that the rhino thing stays down before it runs off again."

Spider-man turned to see the Rhino struggling in the webs. He didn't wait, he rushed over and clocked him on the head to knock him out once more. He waited for the police to secure the Rhino before he left.

Jessica easily carried Ben to the paramedics with Michelle and Ned trailing after her. Ned had asked if she needed help but Jessica said Peter wasn't too heavy. She certainly didn't look like she was having any problems. One of the teachers had talked to the paramedics and said they'd get a hold of his family. Once the paramedics were ready to take Ben, Ned rode in the ambulance with him to the hospital.

Ben didn't wake until after the doctors had examined him and taken a CT scan. Luckily they were alone because Ben freaked out. He tried to rip off the IV but Ned stopped him.

"You're okay. You're in the hospital. You hit your head really hard. The doctors didn't think you'd wake up until tomorrow," Ned said and let go of Ben's hand when he saw him relax.

"Hospital?" Ben said and looked around. He'd been there before but he'd panicked and escaped because he thought he was back at the lab.

"Yeah, you had to get some stitches so they shaved a bit of your hair off," Ned said and showed him a picture on his phone of the back of Ben's head. He chuckled. "It actually looks a little funny."

"Ben!"

Ned and Ben both turned to see a man in the doorway. It was Matt. He looked a little panicked. He had a bag with him and stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Matt, what are you doing here?" Ben said sitting up a little straighter.

"Karen called and told me what happened. I came as soon as I could," he said and looked at the other kid in the room when he heard him squirm and squeak. "Hello. Who are you?"

"Oh, I'm Ned Leeds sir," Ned said standing up and sticking out his hand. Matt ignored it and Ned looked uncomfortable.

"He's blind, Ned," Ben said and smiled. He addressed Matt next. "He was trying to shake your hand."

"Oh, sorry about that," Matt said and stuck out his hand. Ned shook it nervously. He'd noticed the cane but since the man hadn't used it, he didn't think he really was blind.

"So, how do you know Ben?"

"Uh, he knows Peter," Ben said before Ned could answer. "I told him who I was but there was a fight and I was knocked unconscious."

"I thought I should come with him because I was worried and I wasn't sure what would happen to him if he came alone."

"Thank you. But you can't stay here," Matt said and looked at the door then back at the kids. "When the paramedics brought you in, they thought you were Peter and called his aunt. She told the doctor who called her that she'd talked to Peter after the school contacted her. Peter told her he wasn't at the hospital that he was at school and even had a teacher confirm it. She told the doctor that they'd made a mistake in identifying you. So now they're going to try to figure out who you are. But you don't exactly have any identification. So I'm going to have to break you out."

"Oh my god, that is so cool," Ned said, sounding giddy. _Is he your handler?_ Ned asked Ben only mouthing the words since he knew Matt was blind. Ben didn't know how to answer that question.

"You," Matt said looking in Ned's general direction, "need to leave. But you can't tell anyone about this. You never saw me and you don't know him. Do you understand? You and I could get into some serious trouble if you mention any of this to anybody."

"Uh, sure. That's not a problem at all. I can keep a secret." _If I can keep Peter's secret, I can keep Ben's. And oh my god! He's a life model decoy! How awesome is that?!_

Matt nodded after a beat not having detected a lie and moved towards the door. He listened carefully to make sure the coast was clear before he opened it. "Head towards the reception area and wait a couple of minutes before you leave the hospital. Go, now."

"Okay," Ned said and waved at Ben before he was out of the room.

Matt shut the door and threw the bag he was carrying onto the bed. He looked in the cabinets until he found Ben's things. His shirt was torn but his pants were intact. Matt only took out the shoes and placed the remaining items in the bag. He handed Ben a baseball cap and a change of clothes. "Put them on."

Matt helped Ben take off the heart monitor after he turned it off and the IV. While Ben changed out of his gown and into the new clothes, Matt opened a window.

"Are we going out the window?" Ben said excitedly.

"No, I just want it to look like you did," Matt said. "I turned the security cameras away from the room. We're going out the front doors."

"Oh," Ben said, sounding disappointed.

"Are you ready?"

"Yup," Ben said and stood up. He followed Matt through the hallway and into the elevator. He kept his head down like Matt told him to and before he knew it, they were walking out the front door. They were almost clear until they heard someone running up behind them.

"Peter," a girl called out.

Ben turned automatically and saw Jessica run up to him. "Oh my god, you're okay. They let you out already?" She looked from Ben to Matt curiously.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I only needed stitches," Ben said remembering what Ned had told him.

"Hey, kid, we have to go," Matt said and was happy to see Karen pull up in a cab.

"Matt! You found him, thank god!"

"Let's go," Matt said, taking Ben's arm and pulling him towards the cab. "Karen, open the door."

"See you at school tomorrow, maybe?" Jessica said awkwardly as she watched him go.

Ben waved but didn't reply. He couldn't since Matt had him in the cab before he could think of something to say.

"Do you think she'll say something?" Matt asked once the cab was moving.

"No, I don't think so," Ben said looking back through the window at the girl. He felt bad that he couldn't talk to her more before he left. To ease her worry a little.

"How do you know her?"

"He doesn't," Karen said. "She ran into us outside of school when we first arrived."

"She's one of Peter's classmates. She thought I was Peter," Ben said and shrugged. She wasn't in any of Peter's memories. But then again Michelle hadn't been either. Peter had probably recently met them. Before his memories were shared with Ben. And even though Ben had just met Jessica, he knew that he could trust her. "But I'm going to have to tell her who I am."

"Alright, if you think you can trust her," Matt said with a nod.

"I can," Ben said earnestly.

"From what Karen told me, the two of you found your family."

Ben looked at Karen curiously but she was the one who answered. "I need to do a little more digging, but we've established his identity."

"That's great!" Matt said.

"We need to set up an appointment with May Parker," Karen said, sounding a little nervous. "And we need to be careful about what we say to her."

"Okay, let's talk about it more in the office," Matt told her.

They stopped to get food on the way then settled in Matt's office. Karen talked to him about everything she'd found out that morning. Even went as far as talking to May and Ben's old neighbors. Though she reached a dead end when she tried to find anyone who'd known Richard and Mary. All May's old neighbors could tell her was that the couple only had the one child with them when they visited, Peter. The one that May and Ben took in after they passed away.

Matt listened carefully as Karen explained how she'd thought the paper had misprinted the birth announcement but that she found out that Richard and Mary only had one baby. There hadn't even been mention of a second birth. Not even a stillbirth. Matt settled back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair.

"So unless there's a huge cover-up here, I don't think anyone knows Ben exists," Karen said and looked over at the boy who'd been silent throughout the entire exchange. He had his eyes downcast the entire time. "I just don't understand how that's possible. They're twins!"

"We're not twins. I'm a clone," Ben said, making Matt turn to look at him quickly.

"What did you say?" Matt said carefully. He'd heard the kid but he wanted to make certain he'd heard correctly. He was paying attention to the kid's heartbeat and breathing. Ben was scared but he was telling the truth.

"I'm a clone," Ben said looking up to meet Matt's eyes even though they were hidden behind the red lenses. "The professor who had me locked up at the lab made me. That's why I refer to Peter Parker as my ancestor. I was created from his DNA. We have the same genetic markers. We look exactly the same. I even have his memories. I don't know why I was created. But I couldn't stay there anymore. They kept me locked up and sedated when they weren't experimenting on me. And I had memories of a life I'd never experienced. Because of that, I wanted to meet Peter. He had the right to know that I existed. After that, I wanted to have a life of my own."

Matt and Karen were quiet for a long time as they processed what they'd just heard.

"Okay," Matt said, suddenly breaking Karen and Ben out of their thoughts. "We obviously can't tell anyone about this. If anyone finds out, we could be targeted by SHIELD and anyone who is desperate enough to get their hands on cloning. And, Karen, stop investigating the Parkers just in case."

"Sure, of course," Karen said nervously.

"We'll go with the taken at birth story. But we tell May and Peter the truth about you. Does that sound fair?"

"Um, yes, yes it does," Ben said with a shaky nod.

"That would actually work," Karen said with a nod. "There's a police report from the day Ben was found stating that he escaped from his abductors. We could use that to our advantage."

"What was the officer's name? I'm going to have to talk to him," Matt said.

"Costa," Karen said, flipping through the file she had in her hand. "Eddy Costa."

"A uniform?"

"Yes."

"Good."


	6. Hey there! It's Chapter Six

Peter Parker couldn’t believe the run of bad luck he’d had lately. He should’ve guessed that when the girl he liked liked him, it would just end up a huge mess. But he didn’t think that. He thought he was the luckiest guy alive. He’d just saved his decathlon team. And yeah, maybe he got into trouble for going missing for a bit. But it wasn’t anything he couldn’t deal with. A few after school detentions had been worth it. The twist where his Parker Luck reared its ugly head, he couldn’t have known that was even possible. How many heroes in the world have a crush on the daughter of their main villain? Well, okay. It’s a common trope in comic books but his life wasn’t a comic book story plot. And if it was, his writers were meany heads. It all turned out semi-good in the end. He caught the bad guy. He’d redeemed himself in Tony Stark’s eyes. But he lost the girl. She moved away to the other side of the country! It was time to turn his luck around. How could things get any worse than they already had?

Peter’s phone rang loudly in the middle of the teacher’s discourse pulling him from his thoughts. Peter fumbled it in his hand when he tried to quickly pull it out of his backpack. It had scared the crap out of him. He remembered switching it to vibrate when he arrived at school. And since when was the ringer this loud? The face on the screen looking back at him was Tony’s. Why was Tony calling him during school?

“Mr. Parker, bring that phone up here now!”

“Uh, um, I kind of have to take this,” Peter said as he stood with the ringing phone in his hand. He walked towards the teacher as the other students watched.

“If you can’t keep the ringer off, I need to take it from you,” his teacher told him.

“But, it’s a-it’s Mr. Stark,” Peter said holding the phone out so the teacher could see who it was.

“Yeah, right,” Flash said with a scoff. “He probably paid someone to call him and he assigned Stark’s name to them.”

The teacher made a gimme motion and Peter gave her the phone. “Hello? Who is this? … Oh, Mr. Stark, hello. … Yes, he’s right here. … We’re in the middle of—I’m sorry. … Oh, well I assure you he’s been in school— Yes, of course,” the teacher handed the phone back to Peter. “He needs to talk to you. Please, take it in the hall.”

“Oh, yes, thank you, Ms. Carlyle,” Peter said as he hurried out to the hall.

“Was it really Tony Stark?” Peter heard Flash ask before the door closed.

“Hello. Mr. Stark?” Peter said in a hurry.

“Oh, Mr. Parker, how nice to finally hear your voice,” Tony said sarcastically.

“What do you mean? I’m in the middle of class—”

“Oh, really, you’re in class are you?” Tony said in annoyance.

“Yes, English with Ms. Carlyle,” Peter said confusedly. “Why are you calling? I got in trouble with the teacher—”

“In trouble with the teacher? Is that a thing? I don’t know if you know this but pretending to have amnesia and ending up at a hospital for freaking out in a squad car can get you into serious trouble. Not the detention after-school kind either. The type of trouble that could land you in a psych ward if not juvie. Kid, what the hell were you thinking? Is this a phase? Some sort of teen rebellion thing you have going on? Are you in need of attention?”

“Mr. Stark, I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Peter said in a squeaky voice.

“No idea, really? That’s what you’re going with? Well, let me ask you this. What were you thinking about yesterday when you were wandering barefoot by the Lincoln Tunnel at _six_ in the morning?”

“Six in the morn—Mr. Stark, I was sleeping at six in the morning. Like I always am. I’m not an early riser,” Peter said and rubbed his hand through his hair in frustration. Why was he getting a lecture for something he hadn’t even done?

“That’s funny. Because a body cam of a certain Officer Costa places you over by the Lincoln Tunnel. Would you like me to send the footage to you? Is that the only way you’ll fess up? Because god forbid you take responsibility for what you’ve done before I provide proof.”

“That wasn’t me!”

“The officer falls for your innocent act and even buys you a cheeseburger combo meal. Then you freak out at the police station like a lunatic on a bad trip. They had to sedate you and they took you to the hospital where—wouldn’t you guess—you escaped from!”

“That never happened! I woke up late and-and missed the train! I had to web my way to school! I was here all day yesterday. And I’m in school today. Right now. This is where you called me. And the teacher’s mad at me because the ring tone was super loud—”

“You webbed to school yesterday?” Tony said incredulously.

“ _Yes_ , in my suit. Ask Karen if you don’t believe me,” Peter said angrily. “I have to go. I have school, Mr. Stark.” Peter hung up the phone and went to switch the ringer off. But as he looked at the side of his phone, he noticed it _was_ off. Tony had hacked his phone so that it would ring. There were even eleven missed calls from him. Peter hadn’t noticed because the phone had still been paired with his mask. But eleven missed calls for something that wasn’t even Peter’s fault. What the hell was going on?

When Peter walked back into class, the teacher had her hand out so that he would hand her the phone. Peter sighed and relinquished it. She placed it in her drawer and locked it.

“You can have it back at the end of the day,” Ms. Carlyle said.

“Sorry about the interruption,” Peter said as he shuffled back to his seat. How was he going to be alerted in case of an emergency now? This was all Tony’s fault.

The rest of the class dragged on while Flash threw balled up paper balls at his head. Peter ignored him. He was lost in thought. How could Tony have mistaken him for some other kid? Did he think all kids looked alike? Was Peter that unforgettable that Tony couldn’t tell him from another? He’d thought they were good. He’d even passed Tony’s avenger test and was given a new suit. That had been sweet. But now, with the false accusation, Peter didn’t know what to think.

During third period, Ned told him something was going down a few blocks away. The police were having trouble with a man dressed in a Rhino suit that had barreled into a bank vault. He was extremely strong and whatever his suit was made of seemed to be impenetrable. The bullets didn’t even phase him. Peter quickly asked to go to the bathroom. But the teacher told him to wait a couple of minutes. The bell was about to ring. As soon as it did, Peter bolted out of his seat and ran towards the entrance. He looked around and not having seen anyone watching, he jumped over the fence and quickly made his way to the alley to change.

Peter kicked his shoes off and stripped his clothes off as fast as possible before putting his Spider-suit on. He quickly put on his mask before he put his clothes in his backpack.

“Talk to me, Karen!” Peter said hurriedly.

“Hello, Peter. It looks like the Rhino is heading in your direction. You can intercept him before he makes it to the subway entrance,” Karen said calmly as Peter moved a trash bin and webbed his backpack to the back of it before shooting his webs to fling himself up to the roof.

“Thanks, Karen. Do I go straight or?”

“Make a left one block over,” Karen said.

It didn’t take long for Peter to find the Rhino. He wasn’t very hard to miss. He couldn’t help think that the people he had to go up against were just getting weirder. Who dressed as a huge ass Rhino? Did he think the police would be like ‘oh, you’re probably taking all that money to the children at the zoo? Go ahead Mr. Criminal. We believe you!’? What the hell?

Of course, Peter didn’t think all that he said it loudly. Plus a few other things he was thinking as he tried and failed to knock the guy out. He was sturdy but didn’t seem to know that he had to plant his legs. Peter didn’t have that problem. He may be smaller but he knew how to use physics in his favor. The Rhino was just tumbling and fumbling all over the place with well-timed hits. Then again could he be drunk? Or severely dehydrated in that suit? Peter asked the Rhino at seeing the huge horn topple his head back and forth like a bobblehead. Did the suit breathe? It didn’t look like it was made of cotton. What was it made of? Peter asked curiously. Because it felt kind of weird even through his gloves. Not rubber. Some sort of synthetic. How hard was it to get on or off? So, he asked. And the nonanswer explained a whole lot. The man was stuck in his one-of-a-kind Rhino suit. Figured it wasn’t a one-size-fits-all sort of thing. No one in their right mind would trample all over New York dressed like that!

Peter was getting frustrated. They were getting closer and closer to the school. The Rhino had destroyed a whole lot of property trying to squish Spider-man with cars and poles and anything that was big. Peter couldn’t catch everything in his webs. And the more he tried to stop the Rhino from getting away, the angrier the Rhino got. But he was getting tired so he assumed the Rhino was too. It wouldn’t be long before he successfully knocked the man out.

When Peter finally knocked the Rhino unconscious using a manhole cover and webbed him up, he noticed a group of students worried over another. Some of the debris had been flung their way. Peter noticed Michelle and Ned and hurried over to ask if they were okay. He quickly found out that the only student in their group who had been injured passed out at the sight of his own blood. That was good. And oh man, the Rhino was trying to get back up. Peter knocked the Rhino out again and helped the police load him up into the back of a swat truck before he made his exit. He couldn’t stick around to make a statement. He had school. Didn’t adults know anything?

Peter managed to get his backpack but had to change on the roof of the school since there was a huge crowd mugging near the school. Once he was changed, he found his way to a group of students standing in the courtyard. He tried to blend in to make it look like he’d been there the entire time. He thought he’d been sneaky but Ms. Carlyle noticed him right away.

“Peter? What are you doing here? I thought you’d gone to the hospital,” she told him.

Peter shook his head. “Why would I go to the hospital?”

“We thought you were hurt. Jessica told us you were the one in the ambulance.”

“Who’s Jessica?” Peter said curiously.

“Campbell. Well, formerly Campbell,” the teacher said awkwardly.

“Oh! The girl who was in a coma?” Peter said and Ms. Carlyle sighed sadly.

“Poor dear. She probably mistook you for someone else,” Ms. Carlyle said with a shake of her head. “So, you two aren’t friends?”

“No, I think I only spoke to her once,” Peter said. “You know, to offer her my condolences. It didn’t go very well.”

“Yes, I see,” the teacher said in understanding. Ever since the accident, Jessica tended to be abrasive. But they couldn’t blame her. She lost her entire family. It was a good thing the Joneses did in adopting her. Ms. Carlyle gave Peter a sympathetic look. “Well, here’s your phone. I went back to retrieve it when Mr. Harrington said you’d left to the hospital just in case someone called to see if you were okay.”

“Thank you, Ms. Carlyle,” Peter said, and just as he did his phone vibrated.

“Hello? Aunt May?” Peter said having seen it was his aunt on the display.

“ _Peter, thank god! Your school called and said you’d gone to the hospital. Are you okay?”_

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m at school. One of the students mistook me for someone else.”

“ _You can’t be serious! They scared the bejesus out of me!”_

“Let me talk to her. I need to explain what happened,” Ms. Carlyle said.

“Aunt May, my English teacher, wants to talk to you.”

“ _Put her on,”_ May said and Peter handed his phone over.

While the teacher spoke to his aunt, Peter felt someone staring at him. When he turned to look, he saw it was Michelle looking at him curiously. But she was too far away for him to ask her what her deal was. And then it didn’t matter, everyone was ushered to the auditorium. Ms. Carlyle returned his phone and helped herd the students. Seemed like they were going to have to stay on campus until school was out. They were offered the chance to talk to a trauma counselor. Some students did take them up on that. Most weren’t traumatized, they were excited. Plus the fight got them out of class. Peter pulled a granola bar out of his backpack. He was hungry since it was almost lunchtime and after that fight…his stomach grumbled loudly. When was school going to end and would they get to have lunch?

Peter didn’t have to wait long for an answer since the teachers began to pass out snacks. Fruit cups and oatmeal cookies from the cafeteria. Then they announced they were ordering pizza since lunch was interrupted. Peter grinned. Finally, some good luck was coming his way.

“So I heard you passed out when you saw your own blood?” Brian ‘Tiny’ McKeever said in amusement. He was sitting behind Peter and leaned forward to talk to him.

Peter looked over at him and shook his head. “That wasn’t me, Tiny.”

“Aw, don’t get embarrassed. We already know you’re a weakling,” Seymour O’Reilly said making Sally Avril laugh.

“I’m not embarrassed. Hemophobia is pretty common. But seriously, it wasn’t me. Jessica confused me for someone else. Whoever it was is at the hospital,” Peter said addressing Tiny who was the only one who was paying attention to what he was saying.

“No shit?” Tiny said and nudged Seymour to quiet down. “Is the kid okay?”

“I don’t know. Ms. Carlyle only said he’d gone to the hospital,” Peter said and shrugged.

“Damn,” Tiny said and sat back.

Sally said something about the other kid but Peter had stopped listening. At least it seemed everyone would know soon enough that he wasn’t the one who’d gotten hurt. But that was the second time he’d been mistaken for someone else. Did he just have one of those faces that could be mistaken for anyone? Was he just an average schmo? He hadn’t realized he asked the question aloud until he heard an answer from four seats to his right.

“No, you’re a regular loser,” Michelle said looking over at him through narrowed eyes. She was still reeling over the fact that she’d confused someone else for Peter. He was always acting weird so she couldn’t help staring at him. Had she stared at him so long that she saw him in everyone? The other kid was wearing different clothes. And even Ned had questioned whether the other kid was really Peter. So it hadn’t just been her.

“Thanks, you really know how to lift someone’s spirits,” Peter said sarcastically.

“It’s a gift,” Michelle told him and sat back feeling proud of herself. Peter rolled his eyes and dug into his fruit cup.

Maybe, Michelle thought suddenly, the other kid had been a mutant and made his face look like Peter by accident. And that’s what he was telling Ned when they were whispering. Michelle thought it was plausible. More and more people had powers. Even Jessica did. Though Jessica didn’t know Michelle knew. But whatever that accident did to her, it granted her strength. And Jessica was being just as secretive as Peter. She kept cutting class and staying out late. Michelle only knew about her coming home late because her paternal uncle had adopted Jessica and her aunt was always complaining about Jessica to Michelle’s mom. It was very annoying.

“Where the heck is Ned?” Peter said to no one in particular as he looked around the auditorium and gave up a few moments later when the principal began a film and everyone cheered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments?


	7. Hey there! It's Chapter Seven

Ben was nervous. Matt had set up the appointment with May the following morning. Which was now. Only a few minutes more and she'd walk into the law office. Matt and Karen were going to speak with her in the conference room first before Ben was introduced to her. The conference room had a large window so that anyone could see inside. And that's why Ben was hiding in Matt's office. He felt claustrophobic all of the sudden and there were butterflies somersaulting in his stomach. He didn't know how much longer he could wait before he felt the need to jump out the window.

As if she knew her presence was needed, May arrived. Ben heard May's voice as she greeted Matt and Karen. He could hear everything. The office had thin walls. Plus he knew his hearing was better than most. Maybe not better than Matt's. Ben began to pace. He wasn't sure if it was better to listen in or cover his ears. Should he wait to hear from Matt directly whether May would want to meet him or not?

Ben hadn't even noticed in all his nervousness that he was pacing on the ceiling, not the floor. He'd also not heard a single word of what was being said in the other room because he was talking to himself as he tried to decide what was best. And so luck would have it that the first time he set eyes on May she was upside down.

"Oh, dear God," May said as she looked up at Ben. Matt and Karen had stayed in the conference room. May said she wanted to meet the boy before she'd heard the entire explanation. But she hadn't thought that when they said Peter was cloned that the clone would have also inherited Peter's powers along with his memories.

Ben in his shock fell from the ceiling with a loud thump. " _Ow_."

May started to giggle. "You'd think I'd be used to that by now," she said as she walked over to Ben to help him to his feet. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm perfectly fine," Ben said sheepishly.

"What happened?" Matt said from the doorway. Karen was hovering behind him.

May chuckled and waved her hand in response. "Just a spell of the 'ol Parker charm. They never were great at first impressions."

Matt and Karen looked confused.

"Hey! You surprised me. Ever heard of knocking?" Ben said in annoyance with the same squeaky tone Peter used when he was embarrassed which made May chuckle again.

"Oh, sweetheart," she said and took him in her arms. Ben melted into the hug and got misty-eyed. He didn't think she'd accept him so easily. "It wasn't an insult. Only pointed out a family trait."

"Oh."

May stepped up to him and cupped his face. "I didn't think it was possible, I hoped, but…after everything, I thought it was too late."

"What?" Ben said confusedly. May wasn't making any sense.

"Peter always did want a brother."

Ben sucked in a breath in surprise then chuckled. "I'm pretty sure he wanted a _little_ brother, not one his age that looked identical to him."

"Oh, I think we both know he's a little full of himself."

"I resemble that remark." Ben smiled lopsidedly at her which made May laugh.

Matt and Karen retreated leaving the pair alone to get to know one another. Karen sighed happily. She'd been nervous when May abruptly stood up to see Ben before she'd heard everything but it seemed she'd been wrong about May from the get-go. And she was all the happy for it.

Ben hugged her again. He was so happy that May had accepted him. He'd been so nervous but May had a big heart. He knew that. But still. It couldn't be easy for her to see another person who looked just like her son standing before her.

"Oh my god, it was you! Wasn't it?" May said pushing him back to get a better look at him.

"Me? What'd I do?" Ben said, taken aback. How could he have possibly done anything to get him in trouble? He'd just met her.

"When the school called to say Peter was at the hospital. It was you," May said and covered her mouth with her hand. Ben nodded nervously. "Are you okay? Did you break something? Were you all alone?"

"I'm fine. Just needed stitches," he said and showed her the bald patch at the back of his head where the cut had long since healed. Matt had taken out the stitches the night before. Ben didn't know what it looked like but the skin felt back to normal when he ran his fingers in the area.

May couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her lips. "Oh, we need to fix this. It looks horrendous. You know what, this could be China."

"Yeah, well," Ben said and shrugged. He couldn't see it and he didn't really care. But she was the second person to laugh at him for it. Matt was blind so he didn't know any better and he was certain Karen hadn't noticed it, yet.

May ran a hand through his hair when he turned back around and looked at him with glassy eyes. She already loved him. There was no doubt in her heart about it. But she could tell that this boy in front of her wasn't Peter. He wasn't her boy no matter how badly she wanted him to be. There was something haunting in his eyes. He'd been through a lot in the short time of his existence. And he was ready to be his own man. That was something Peter was ready for as well. Though with Peter she wasn't ready to cut the metaphorical cord. But this boy, Ben, needed to be on his own to figure out who he was and what it was he wanted to do with his life. May couldn't be the one to guide him either. He was already pulling away from her.

Ben took her hand in his and placed it back at her side. Then he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. This was Peter's Aunt May and even though he had memories of her, she wasn't his anything. He couldn't forget that no matter how good it felt that she treated him like she did Peter. Because he _wasn't_ Peter. He was Ben.

May held her hand out so that Ben could take it and he automatically did. "I need to finish talking to Mr. Murdock but it's better if you're present since we're talking about you."

Ben nodded and allowed May to guide him back to Matt's office.

"And, Ben…"

Ben sucked in a breath at hearing her say the name he'd taken. He thought she'd be upset about that. Because it wasn't only Peter's middle name but also her recently deceased husband's name.

"You might not be Peter but you're my nephew, my family. You got that?" May's voice was stern. Ben nodded. "Whatever you need, I'm here for you."

"And it doesn't bother you...that I took the name Ben?"

"Of course not," May said through loved filled eyes. "It suits you."

Ben ducked his head but smiled happily. "Thank you."

"Alright, let's find out what Mr. Murdock wanted to tell me."

When May had first arrived at the office, she wasn't sure what to expect. Hearing from a lawyer who became famous for defending the Fantastic Four for something as innocuous as real estate—Murdock had had bigger cases since then but he was well known in the city due to representing the heroes—was enough to garner her interest and also worry. She'd thought Murdock wanted to speak to her about Peter's alter ego and was relieved in finding out that Spider-man wasn't the reason she was called in. But it was in reference to Peter as she'd suspected. Except it wasn't anything she could have predicted. The word clone reminded her of the sheep Dolly and all she could picture was a toddler Peter in the other room. Dread and worry for the boy filled her. She had to see him for herself before she heard anything else.

Seeing that the clone was not only Peter's identical in every way, not just age, filled her with so many emotions she couldn't process completely. She loved him as soon as she laid eyes on him but she had an undercurrent of fear towards the boy. Clones didn't live as long as the originals. Or that was what she'd gotten out of the Dolly experiment. She wasn't great with science but she knew a thing or two. She tried to keep up for Peter's sake. She knew there were things she would never understand. But she did know that cloning humans the way Ben had been cloned should not be possible. And therefore, he was in deep shit.

May looked over the police report once she had settled back in the conference room with Ben. After reading that Ben had escaped the lab and hearing that Daredevil had placed Ben with Matt for safekeeping, she made a grab for Ben's hand and held it tightly.

"Is he being hunted? Is that what you're saying?" May was panicking; she could feel her heart racing and her breathing quicken. Wasn't it already bad enough that he'd have a short life span? He was also being hunted down by some insane scientist. And who knew who else.

"We're not sure," Matt told her quickly. "I imagine that they're looking for him. And the first place they'll think of looking for him is with you."

"That's not helping, Matt," Karen whispered to him and he clammed up.

"Stop freaking out, May," Ben told her in a broken voice and kneeled before her. He cupped her face and forced her to look at him. He hated it when May freaked out. Or rather Peter did and therefore he did too. Because it made him freak out. "Please. Daredevil is watching over me and I'm safe at Matt's place. No one would think of looking for me there. And I know I shouldn't have gone to Peter's school or told Ned who I really was and that Jessica will probably figure out that there was something weird about me so now I have to talk to her and make sure she isn't going to punch Peter in the face for it—"

"Okay, okay. It's okay, sweetheart. I'm okay," May told Ben and pulled him into a hug. Then she pushed him back. "You told Ned you were a clone?!"

"No!" Ben said quickly and shook his head. "I told him I wasn't Peter. I swear, he was cool with it. Probably more excited than he should be that Karen had taken me to the school—"

"Karen?" May said and looked at Karen Paige. The woman smiled sheepishly and ran an anxious hand through her hair. It hadn't been the best idea to leave Ben alone at the school; she knew that now.

"But he probably thought you were talking about Peter's Karen." May suddenly stood up and started to pace.

"Peter's Karen?" Matt said curiously.

Ben leaned against the table and faced May as he waited for her explanation. He didn't know Peter knew a Karen.

"His AI," May said dismissively. "He named it Karen."

"Peter has an AI named Karen?" Matt said in surprise. He looked towards Karen with a tilt of his head wondering what she thought about that. Why would a sixteen-year-old kid need an AI? And how was it possible that he had the knowledge to create one? Was Peter a genius? Did that make Ben a genius? Was that the reason he was cloned? Matt had a flurry of questions running through his mind. None he would have answers to anytime soon.

"Yes, Tony Stark gave it to him for—" May cut herself off before she outed Peter. She looked at Ben who was subtly shaking his head. She was saying too much.

Tony had an AI for his Iron Man suit. So it was only logical he'd give one to Peter for his Spider-man suit. Which meant, Ben guessed, that May, Tony Stark—holy fuck! Peter talks to Iron Man!—and Ned knew that Peter was masquerading around New York as Spider-man. Holy shit!

Ben hadn't told Matt or Karen that Peter was Spider-man and he wasn't planning to. It was bad enough Ben was a clone. Adding more to Matt and Karen's plates was going to make the situation they were in so much worse.

"Peter interns at Stark Tower as Tony Stark's personal intern," May told them and figured that was a good explanation. One that Tony Stark himself would back.

"Wow," Karen said and looked over at Ben realizing that the only reason Peter went to Midtown High—a school that was known for its science academics—and interned for Tony Stark was because the boy had to be super smart. Ben must be as well. If you were going to clone someone it had to be for a goddam good reason and she couldn't think of anything better than intelligence other than superpowers. Like the ones that Spider-man had. And Ben had said Peter was in the alley where Spider-man had been spotted. Oh, fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Did that mean that Spider-man was a teenage boy? Was he Peter Parker? Did Ben have superpowers too?

Karen halted her line of thinking. If it was true then it was dangerous for her to know. Even more dangerous for Matt given that he was Daredevil. Dear God, Matt stumbled into a shit storm when he took the boy in. She really hoped that by helping Ben it didn't bite him in the ass.

"So you can imagine the amount of tech the boy gets his hands on." May finished off with a nervous chuckle. "But back to Ned. What did he say to you?"

"Um, okay, he um, he thought I was an Android. So that makes more sense now since he imagined that an AI sent me to the school," Ben said and scratched his head. "In the end, he agreed to keep me a secret."

"Ned can't keep a secret for the life of him," May said exasperatedly.

"I know," Ben said, hanging his head. "But nobody will believe him if he accidentally says anything?"

Matt sighed heavily. "We need to make sure he _hasn't_ said anything."

"He's gotten better at keeping secrets," May said thinking back to the fact that Ned managed to keep Peter's Spider-man secret from her. She handed her phone to Ben. "Talk to him and make sure he hasn't said anything to Peter. I don't think we should tell Peter about you yet. We need to keep you both separated until we're sure we can keep you both safe from that scientist professor guy or whatever maniac is looking for you."

Ben swallowed hard. He hadn't even thought that he'd make Peter a target when he escaped the lab. "Yeah, sure. I can do that." May already had Ned's contact on the screen. Ben pressed the call button and placed the phone to his ear.

" _Mrs. Parker? Is everything okay?_ " Ned answered nervously.

"It's not May. It's me, Ned," Ben said and ran a nervous hand through his hair. How should he ask Ned whether or not he kept his mouth shut nicely?

" _Peter? Dude, why are you calling me when you're standing right in front of me?_ "

Ben facepalmed. And he heard Matt sigh softly.

" _What are you talking about, Ned? I'm not calling you,_ " Ben heard Peter say sounding completely confused. " _See. My phone in my hand. Not even on._ "

" _He's being dorkier than usual_ ," Ben heard Michelle say though she was further away.

"Ned, you idiot, it's me, Ben! Ben!"

" _Right. Right_ ," Ned said into the receiver then sounded like he turned away from it. " _Uh, sorry dude, you sound like my friend Ben._ "

" _Your friend Ben? Who the heck is Ben? I'm your_ _ **only**_ _friend, Ned._ "

" _Um, um. Well, I have a new friend._ "

" _New friend_?"

" _I can make new friends, Peter_."

" _Sorry, loser, you just got replaced_."

" _What?!_ "

" _No. That's not—I can't replace you with_ _ **you**_ _!"_

" _That makes no sense, Ned._ "

" _You have an imaginary Peter friend? You really are a dork._ "

" _A Peter friend? What the hell, Ned?"_ Peter's voice had raised an octave and it was starting to get squeaky. Like it did when he was embarrassed or frustrated about something.

Ben could hear Michelle chuckling in the background.

" _Michelle, I'm talking to my friend if you don't mind,"_ Ned said, suddenly sounding very serious.

" _Whatever, dork."_

" _Peter, look. There comes a time in a man's life when he has to expand his horizons_ —"

Ben hung up the phone and handed it back to May. "He hasn't said anything."


	8. Well, crap! It's a half chapter (7.5)

Jessica Jones didn’t have any friends. Well, not anymore. She did before her entire life changed. But she didn’t care to have any now. Because what was the point. Her family was dead. That was it. Her family was _dead_. And she would give anything to have her family back. Even her annoying little brother that she missed more than she could have ever imagined.

The people she went to school with, like Flash Dickface Thompson, were all assholes. They thought she was a freak just because she was the only one of her family to survive the accident and wasn’t crying in the halls after she’d come out of that fucking coma. Just because she didn’t cry in front of them or answer their stupid ass questions about what it was like to be in a coma the way they wanted her to didn’t mean she was a freak. The fact that ended up with super strength and could sort of fly _was_ a good reason to call her a fucking freak. And if she thought that made her a freak, then it had to be true. 

It wasn’t true though. And she knew it. Plus she missed her best friend MJ. But not enough to actually want to do the entire friend thing again. Because what she really missed was what she had before the accident when she and MJ were still cool. The person she was now, well, she didn’t know that person yet. She had plenty of time to figure that out. She was still in high school after all. And her new parents—yup, she had new parents now—were very supportive of her figuring it out. Yeah, so fucking supportive they made her go to talk therapy which didn’t help at all. But she knew they meant well. If Jessica was a sucker for anything it was people who tried to help someone else even if they went about it in shitty ways. 

When her new dad told her to call them mom and dad after he’d introduced himself to her when she came out of the coma and was all alone in the world, what could she do but comply? Well, it took her some time. After the yelling and the crying and her being a major asshole to them. Even after all of that they still gave her a home. And they allowed her to go back to the same school so that not every part of her life had to be different. Hell, her new mom didn’t put up with her bullshit much like her old mom didn’t. They got along like cats and dogs. And her new dad thought it was funny. And she loved them both. Because it was easy to. They were good people. So she tried to be a good daughter to them. 

That was before she figured out that she was stronger than before. A lot stronger. So strong she managed to uproot a tree. A big fucking tree. And she got it in her head that maybe if she could do that then perhaps, she could fly too. That didn’t work as well. She was good with the liftoff. It was the landing that didn’t turn out the way it should. She often fell short of her mark. More often than not she didn’t even land on her feet. But it was okay. She was tougher than before. Could take the awkward landings and even the bumps and bruises without a problem. Because another thing she found out was, well, she healed a little faster than before. The thing was, she didn’t know what to do with her new abilities. Until she decided to follow in Spider-man’s footsteps and help random people who needed protection from stupid assholes who thought they could do as they pleased. That was when she got into a lot of trouble with her mom. 

Crime didn’t happen at the most convenient times. And she was trying to keep a low profile. Making it a point to only help after school and before curfew made it blatantly obvious that she didn’t have a lot of time to actually make a difference. So on occasion, she ditched a few classes if there was something happening that was too much for the cops to handle. Most of the time Spider-man beat her to the punch but that was fine. She could at least watch and learn from the sidelines. Not that she learned much. He swung around those damn webs and was a lot more lythe than she was. 

The thing was, nobody knew about her and that was actually cool with her. Well, the people she helped knew about her. They had actually given her the idea to wear a costume and choose a name. So she went by the name Jewel if anyone asked. She didn’t wear a mask but she wore make-up and a wig. It actually made her look different and a little older than she actually was. The media hadn’t caught wind of the new protector on the block. J. Jonah Jameson helped conceal her activity. The man was so hard up for Spider-man that Jewel didn’t even make his radar. It helped that she was quick to jump in to help then leave as soon as the job was done. No one had caught her on camera yet. Which was a major plus. 

She was underestimated more often than not and it helped her take down the bad guys. And it made her happy to know that she could go out and help with her abilities. But no good deeds went unpunished. She had constant fights with her mom about how utterly irresponsible she was. With the ditching. And the coming home late. And the hooker hair and makeup she forgot to get rid of before she walked through the front door of her house after one in the morning on a school night. Could anyone blame her? Fighting crime was exhausting. 

Being a teen hero was shit for moods when you were constantly stressed out and knew you were going to get chewed out again for doing the right thing that no one even knew you were doing. Keeping a secret identity sucked major balls. But it made Jessica happy. On the inside. On the outside, she bit everybody’s head off. It helped keep her cover. Plus she didn’t care to put up with anyone’s shit. And she wasn’t looking to get attached to anyone ever again.

The exception, Peter Parker. Why couldn’t she get over him? From the moment she laid eyes on him, she just didn’t see anyone else. Well, other than Johnny Storm and the fantasies she had about him that helped her get off before she lay her head to sleep. The problem with Peter was that he didn’t look at or talk to anyone but Ned. In all fairness, it was the same for her, she only spoke to MJ. Only because they knew each other from Junior High and she didn’t know anyone else at Midtown. They’d sort of gravitated towards each other at first but then became great friends. Too bad that didn’t last. Story of her life. 

Her crush on Peter was all-encompassing at the time. She just couldn’t stop admiring Peter from afar. And just when she garnered the courage to confess her feelings for him, he was hurt at a science exhibit and taken to the hospital. She knew then and there that it just wasn’t meant to be for them. 

It wasn’t too long after the science exhibition that the accident where she lost her family happened. By the time Jessica had come out of the coma, she found out a few things about Peter Parker. He’d changed. He’d stopped wearing glasses. Had gotten rid of the braces. He was even better looking than before. But he’d turned into a flake in class. He was always running late. Sometimes even missing class or forgetting to turn in assignments. He dropped all but one of his extracurricular activities. And might even be lying about having an internship with _the_ fucking Tony Stark. He not only ditched the decathlon team on an important meet but also Liz Allen, a freaking beautiful senior, at the prom. 

Peter Parker was no longer the reliable, sweet, honest guy that Jessica had fallen for. Though she still had feelings for him. She just buried them deep down. Especially when he finally deemed her worthy of a conversation only to look at her with pity. She didn’t need that. Not from him. She even managed to stop staring at him like a starry-eyed idiot. Instead, Jessica kept her focus on her schoolwork. She had twice as much as before because she was determined to get caught up. She was going to graduate on time. She might have missed the end of her freshman year and the beginning of her sophomore year but by spring break she’d caught up with everyone else and was on track to finish the school year on time. 

Things were looking up for Jessica. So much so that when she ran into Peter outside of school she found the courage to actually speak to him. Mostly out of curiosity. Because she had to know who the woman with Peter was. She was in her mid-twenties at the very least and was well put together. Really pretty too. As close as they were standing with his hand on her mouth while he peeked into the alley made Jessica think something weird had happened. Like maybe he was helping her get away from someone. If that was the case, Jessica could definitely help. Maybe there was a jackass in there that had been harassing her. A deadbeat boyfriend. Or just some random asshole. Either way, Jessica could take him. And she wouldn’t care to expose her abilities to Peter. He didn’t partake in gossip. And he may have changed, but he wasn’t a complete asshole.

Jessica didn’t notice at first because Michelle and Flash interrupted but Peter hadn’t said a word to her. And she came to the conclusion that he didn’t want to speak to her. She’d been an asshole to him and he decided to treat her indifferently. But if that was the case, she would make him admit it. Except he didn’t. Instead, his explanation made it seem like everything had been a huge misunderstanding. From his pity to his shy behavior. Because that was what Jessica chalked it up to be. When he smiled, Jessica couldn’t help but smile back. When he was hurt, she wanted to be there for him. But Ned jumped into the ambulance before she could. 

As soon as her dad found out about the Rhino attack at the school, he rushed over to pull her out for the day. She was grateful for that but he didn’t let her out of his sight until after she’d sat down to eat with him. After the third time that she asked to visit Peter at the hospital, he finally relented. By the time Jessica arrived, Peter was leaving. With some blind man and the same woman he’d been with outside of the school. They were in a hurry to leave. Her curiosity got the best of her and she hailed a cab to follow them. Turned out the man was a lawyer. Matt Murdock. She should’ve recognized him. He was well known in New York. But the real question was, why would Peter need a lawyer? She decided to ask him the next day at school.

When Jessica saw Peter the next day between classes, she smiled at him but he walked right past her like he didn’t know her. And that pissed her off.

“Hey, what gives, asshole?” Jessica said angrily, reaching out for his arm before he completely passed her up. But he spun away from her arm and stared at her with wide-eyes. Jessica pulled her hand back and held it up with her palm out trying to convey she didn’t mean any harm. Why had he reacted that way? Jessica wanted to know. “What the fuck was that?”

“Oh, sorry,” Peter said apologetically. He fidgeted in place and adjusted his backpack so that it rested on his back completely instead of dangling at his side as it had been. “I didn’t mean to get in your way.”

“You didn’t,” Jessica said with a frown marring her face. She was feeling more confused by the moment. Because Peter was looking at her as if he had no clue who she was.

“Oh, then why…?” He tilted his head to the side then grimaced. A spark of recognition had entered his eyes. Jessica had noticed and waited to see what he’d say but then he took a step away. “Uh, nevermind. I’ll just, um...I’m going this way,” Peter said and turned away from her slipping in between a crowd of students. He quickly made his way towards Ned who had just turned to face Peter. 

Ned looked nervous about something. He’d just finished talking to the Principal who was looking at Jessica with a deep frown. Though Principal Morita only shook his head and turned around when he made eye contact with her. So Jessica decided to follow Peter to find out if Ned would say anything about whatever the Principal said to him. That or she was going to have to talk to Ned later because he’d thrown her under the bus for something. She was certain of that.

Before Peter reached Ned, he received a phone call. And the conversation that ensued was completely ridiculous. Jessica decided that Michelle was right about Peter and Ned; they _were_ losers. She didn’t have time for losers or assholes and decided it wasn’t worth the trouble to find any answers. They might accidentally draw her closer to them in the process. Only to get hurt by them. The way Peter had just hurt her by blowing her off. Apparently, whatever moment they’d shared the day before was long and forgotten from Peter’s standpoint. Jessica ducked her head and made her way to her next class ignoring Flash calling her a freak for the umpteenth time. 


	9. Hey there! It's Chapter Eight

Ben was only listening with half an ear as Matt and May came up with a game plan for his immediate future. He felt like a child while the adults planned out his days. Breakfast with Matt, lunch with May, and Matt would take most evenings depending on Peter’s schedule. All in the name of them not crossing paths, which was the only thing Ben actually wanted.

Ben couldn’t go to school just in case the professor was searching for him in the midst of the public education system. It was decided that he’d go to an online high school under the surname Reilly, which was May’s maiden name. 

By the time they hashed everything out, Ben was resting his head on the table with his arms stretched out because he was bored out of his mind. The entire time his knee had been bouncing because of all the excess energy that he couldn’t release. He would’ve preferred to be sedated. Then again...probably not. He’d had enough of that in one lifetime. He sighed heavily thanking his lucky stars that there were people in his life who cared enough about him to make plans for him. 

“Oh sweetheart, you probably want to get out of this place,” May said as she ran her hand over his hair. When her fingers brushed his bald patch, she chuckled. “I know, let’s go get you a haircut and get this fixed.”

“Are you sure?” Ben asked sitting up suddenly. A spark of excitement shot through him just at the thought of getting out of the office. But then he felt guilty. May was wasting a lot of time on him when she was a busy woman and had Peter to look out for. He was nothing to her even if she saw him as her nephew. “I mean, don’t you have to get to work? You’ve been here all morning. I’ve taken up enough of your time.”

“I switched shifts with someone else.” She checked the time on her watch. “I still have a few hours. Come on, let’s get you that haircut.”

“Is it okay?” Ben asked Matt just to be certain. According to what he and May had been saying, he would stay under Matt‘s custody. Ben wasn’t sure what that meant in technical terms but from a teen’s eye view, it sounded like Matt was sort of his dad. As such, Ben had to ask his permission, right?

“Yes, of course,” Matt said with a soft smile.

Ben grinned and jumped to his feet. He hopped in place and turned to look at May. “I’m ready. I’ve been ready!”

“Are you sure? We can sit for a few more minutes and wait for the clouds to clear up a bit,” May said looking out the window with a smirk. 

Matt chuckled softly. 

“My ass is numb, May,” Ben said in annoyance and hopped in place again. “I can’t sit for another minute! I’d jump out the window if I could fly! Let’s go. Let’s go. Let’s go!” Ben rushed to the door. 

May couldn’t help it. She began to laugh. “Alright, hold your horses. I can’t move as fast as I used to.”

“You’re not that old, May!” Ben said and walked back to take her by the elbow. He saw Matt smiling and barely containing his need to laugh. “Don’t make me carry you. Cause I will.” He winked at Matt even though he damn well knew the man couldn’t see him. The nasal laugh that Matt expelled let Ben know that the emotion was conveyed regardless. 

“Oh, I’m just giving you a hard time,” May said and picked up her pace. She turned to look at Matt. “Maybe we should add regular walks and a visit to the vet to that list.”

“Har har!” Ben said waving at Matt. 

“See you soon, kid.”

They reached the stairs when Ben heard Matt call to him, “You forgot your hat.”

“I’ll meet you downstairs,” Ben said in a hurry. He ran back towards the office and easily caught the cap that Matt threw at him. “Thanks, dad. Promise to be home at a decent hour.”

Matt had stiffened a little at the term dad but then relaxed when he felt the humor the boy was exuding. “By dinner.”

“Dinner then. See ya!” Ben said and rushed to catch up with May outside.

“So, are we really getting me a haircut?” Ben said hoping the answer was no because that meant he had to sit longer. All he wanted to do was run and jump and do anything that required physical activity.

“Yes,” May said with an emphatic nod. “I refuse to allow any nephew of mine run around with a bald patch.”

“Uh-huh,” Ben said dismissively as he looked around. “So, um,” Ben began without looking at May, “how’s Peter?”

“Hmm?” May said looking over at the boy curiously. “Peter?”

“Yeah,” Ben said and looked at his feet and away again. 

“Oh, you know, he keeps himself busy with school and Spider-manning,” May said the last part in a whisper. 

“Do you think, uh, that he’ll, you know, accept me?” Ben said looking away towards the cars. 

May noticed that he’s ears were pink and she smiled softly. “Maybe he’ll freak out when he first sees you, but then he’ll be very excited about you. He’ll probably want to show you off.”

“Like a new puppy?” Ben said with a grimace. 

“Oh, honey, no,” May said sympathetically. “He’ll love you! I love you and I just met you!”

“But only because I remind you of him,” Ben said looking over at her. 

“Actually, no. You look like him. My god, you’re identical! But at the same time, I see you. You’re quieter than Peter. And your expressions are...different.” She didn’t want to say haunted and that because of that he seemed older. He’d lost his innocence. May didn’t think he’d get that back. But that didn’t mean he had to get by on his own. She was grateful to Matt for that. At the very least, Ben would have a better male role model than Peter. “Does that make sense?”

“I think so?” Ben said as he scratched the back of his neck. Michelle had said something similar. “Thanks.”

May smiled and took hold of his arm. “We’re here. Let’s go inside and fix you up.”

They didn’t have to wait long before Ben was seated for his haircut. He kept his eyes closed to make sure the hair clippings didn’t get into his eyes. Once the barber brushed the excess hair off his face, neck, and head he told Ben to take a look.

“Woah,” Ben said as he stared at his reflection in shock. A ran a hand over his head and smiled. 

“It’s bold, but it suits you,” May said walking up behind him. 

May smiled at the barber and thanked him. It had been his idea to give Ben a buzz cut because it was the only way to fix the bald patch. The hair had begun to grow some but not enough. Ben had to come up with a reason on the fly to explain why he’d chopped off a chunk of his hair at the crown of his head. Gum. Yeah, he said he was trying to get rid of the gum. He couldn’t say the hospital did it while they were stitching him up when he didn’t even have a scar.

“May, I’ll pay you back for the haircut,” Ben said. He felt bad that she was spending her hard-earned money on him.

“Oh, don’t worry, honey,” May said rubbing his arm. “Stark is funding this make-over.” She waved a SI credit card at him. “Now, let’s go get you new clothes to go with your new hair.”

“Or non-hair,” Ben said and ran a hand over the top of his head. He couldn’t stop touching it. It felt good. “Wait, did you say Stark? You know Tony Stark too? Do you work for him?”

“No, not me,” May said and shook her head. “Peter is Tony’s intern. But he gave me this card for emergencies. I think this qualifies. I’ve never had to use it. It should be fine.”

“Oh, well, if you say so,” Ben said with a shrug. 

May pulled him towards a shop. They only bought the bare necessities. Ben insisted that he’d get a job to buy what he needed so that May wouldn’t worry about anything. She couldn’t afford to provide for two kids, and Ben didn’t feel comfortable taking advantage of Tony Stark’s generosity. Especially when it was aimed at Peter. Tony had no idea that Ben even existed. And it would have to stay that way for the time being. At least until Peter met Ben. And Ben was starting to get frustrated about how long he had to wait for that to even happen. 

Ben and May parted ways after shopping. May had to get to work. Ben headed back to Matt’s place to drop off his clothes. He didn’t have a key so he had to go in through the roof access. Matt left that door open. He said he didn’t have to worry about anyone breaking in through there. Ben didn’t go inside, he only left the bags by the door. He decided to go for a walk to get rid of the pent-up energy. He had no destination in mind other than to steer clear of Midtown. 

Ben felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end and the feeling of electricity run up his spine before he heard the screams. He took off running towards the sound. Something was happening and his senses were telling him to run and hide. But Ben couldn’t do that. Not when someone was in danger. He had to help somehow. He just wasn’t sure what he could do. He would have to think up something when he arrived. 

Ben turned a corner and skidded to a stop. The screams had turned to cheers. On the street in front of a laundromat was Jessica Jones. She was wearing some sort of white bodysuit with teal trim and gloves. Her hair was different. It was a light shade of purple. But Ben would know that face anywhere. Except, Jessica was smiling as she stood over a man dressed up in yellow spandex. She told the people who were applauding her to call the cops because the idiot wouldn’t be knocked out for long. Then she took off in a run and just flew away. 

_ What the hell? Jessica can fly? _

Ben ran after her. He followed her as she cleared a few blocks before he lost her. He figured she’d landed on a roof of the last building she went over. After running into an alley and seeing no one around, he climbed it. It didn’t take him long to make it to the roof and once he was on top of it, he saw Jessica. 

Her back was to him but he could feel the excitement radiating off of her. She chuckled and Ben smiled. Jessica Jones was a superhero. 

“Hey,” Ben said softly. He had to pretend to be out of breath. There was no point letting in on the fact that he had powers too. Not if he didn’t want her to put two and two together and figure out that Peter did too. 

Jessica whirled around to face him and put up her hands defensively. She recognized him after a second. Even at the shock of seeing him up on the roof, she didn’t drop her fists. 

“Who are you?” Jessica said. She sounded scared. 

“Well,” Ben said and after removing his cap, scratched his head. 

“I know you’re not Peter. Why do you look like him?” Jessica said as she eyed him suspiciously. 

“No, I’m not Peter. My name is Ben. We met in front of the school. And you sort of mistook me for him. Everybody does actually. It’s kind of annoying,” Ben said and shrugged. 

“No shit. You look just like him,” Jessica said, finally dropping her hands. “Why is that?”

“Sort of a side effect of having the same genetic markers,” Ben said and rubbed his head awkwardly. 

“What’s with the new look?” Jessica said and gestured to his head. 

“Oh!” Ben said and chuckled. “I had a bit of an accident if you remember?” Jessica nodded. “Yeah, well, the hospital shaved a spot on my head. And May decided to get me a haircut so that it didn’t look so funny.”

Jessica sniffed and looked away. She felt uncomfortable standing in front of him in her Jewel outfit. 

“I saw you,” Ben said and grinned. “You took down that guy and then flew away. So, obviously, I had to follow you.”

“Yeah, obviously,” Jessica said and smiled at him. 

“Matt, the guy who picked me up at the hospital, wanted me to talk to you about what happened at school and the fact that I’m not Peter. I told him you wouldn’t say anything. But he wanted me to make sure and I sort of wanted to see you again too. So there’s that.”

“What do you mean? Why wouldn’t I say anything?”

“Well, no one knows about me. I mean, you know about me. And Ned. And Matt and Karen. Oh, and May. But no one else does.”

“You mean Peter doesn’t know about you,” Jessica said knowingly. 

Ben nodded and his shoulders sagged. “All I want to do is meet him. But Matt and May think it’s for the best that we don’t, not yet anyway.”

“Why?” 

“Because I sort of escaped some crazy lab where I was being kept and experimented on by some weird professor guy. Matt thinks that the guy might be looking for me. And he’d imagine that the first place I’d run to would be my family. Which is exactly what I did. And until Matt and Karen can figure out who this guy is, I might be putting him in danger by meeting him so I’m supposed to stay away from him.”

“Oh,” Jessica said and rubbed her arm. “That sucks.”

“Yeah,” Ben said and crossed his arms over his chest. He didn’t know what else to say. 

“Well, don’t worry. I won’t say anything,” Jessica said and Ben nodded. He already knew she wouldn’t. “So what are you going to do?”

“About what?”

“School or whatever,” Jessica said. Ben wouldn’t be going to her school if he had to stay away from Peter. 

“Oh, Matt’s enrolling me into an online school.”

“How are you going to meet anyone if you’re online all day?”

“Well,” Ben said and smiled. “I already met you.”

“That’s reassuring,” Jessica said and they both chuckled. “Since I’m ditching anyway, you want to do something.”

“Sure.”

“Let me just change,” Jessica said and walked over to the staircase entrance. She had left her backpack there. She turned around to see Ben looking at her curiously and she scoffed. “Some privacy would be nice.”

“Sorry,” Ben said and pointed to the alley. “I’ll wait for you down there then.”

He grabbed on to the ledge and hopped over to the fire escape. He made his way down slowly just in case. When he jumped down the last floor, Jessica landed beside him with a resounding thud. 

“Woah,” Ben said and looked at her as she stood up straight out of a crouch. “You jumped down?”

“It was faster than taking the stairs,” Jessica shrugged. “No one knows about me. What I can do, that is.”

“You’re literally looking at a walking secret. You can trust me to keep yours.”

“Cool.”

Ben grinned.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **  
> _New story, 'From the perspective of Charlie Parker'. Set in the MCU during the five years post-snap. On my blog._  
>  **
> 
> **  
> _diceysmiles.wordpress.com/category/fpcp/_  
>  **


	10. Announcement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The past few chapters haven't had any comments and had very little views so I will no longer be posting this story here.

Nothing to see here...


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